Development of an electrochemical immunosensor for Phakopsora pachyrhizi detection in the early diagnosis of soybean rust

Soybean rust is a disease that occurs on soybean leaves and is considered very aggressive, reducing product quality. Early identification of fungus in the plants prevents severe farming losses as well as spreading to neighboring cultures. In this paper, a label-free immunosensor was developed based on impedance measurements to detect Asian rust on soybean leaf extract at the early stages of the disease. The antibody anti-mycelium of Phakopsora pachyrhizi fungus (disease agent) was immobilized on a gold substrate via a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of thiols using covalent cysteamine coupling. This immunosensor presents a limit of detection of 385 ng mL-1. The optimization of experimental conditions and surface blocking to minimize non-specific adsorption on the immunosensor response were evaluated. These studies, based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), provide new perspectives on using this method for early diagnosis of soybean rust.