{
  "abstract": "Timely quantification of crop stress physiology remains challenging because conventional assays are destructive, labor-intensive, and poorly suited for continuous monitoring and field deployment. Here, we report a microneedle-enabled electrochemical biosensing platform with smartphone-based data collection for the in planta monitoring of plant stress that integrates three design innovations in a single architecture: (i) a fully integrated hollow microneedle-microfluidic measurement pathway for sap access, (ii) physical isolation of the metal electrodes from direct tissue contact to reduce insertion-zone abrasion of the sensing interface, improving biocompatibility and potentially lowering fouling pathways, and (iii) lithography-free fabrication of a modular transducer on an additively manufactured substrate. The platform comprises a three-electrode gold (Au) transducer modified with a nanostructured reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-chitosan layer. The biosensing platform enabled dual sensing channels via functionalized glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) for the detection of glucose and water stress-associated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), respectively. The glucose channel showed a strong linear calibration over the tested range, with Pearson's r = 0.99, R2 = 0.98, sensitivity of 62.34 μA/mM, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 102.50 μM (∼1.85 mg/dL), while the H2O2 channel exhibited Pearson's r = 0.99, R2 = 0.99, sensitivity of 3.65 μA/decade, and an LOD of 3.22 μM. Repeatability across measured standards remained high for both channels, with mean coefficients of variation of 1.31% for glucose and 1.16% for H2O2. Ex vivo measurements in plant sap, including standard-addition experiments and comparison with commercial benchmark assays, provided validation of analyte concentration determination in plant-derived samples. In planta measurements on maize plants (Zea mays L.) grown under graded watering treatments revealed statistically significant treatment-dependent glucose and H2O2 signatures over time (p < 0.05), consistent with carbon-status and oxidative-stress responses to water deficit, respectively. This integrated, manufacturable platform provides a practical route toward real-time, data-driven crop management using minimally invasive electrochemical readouts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Virginia Tech , , , ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Frank Efe Erukainure",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7640-391X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Blake N. Johnson",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4668-2011"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "David B. Langston",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4130-584X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Abhilash Kumar Chandel",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3996-4443"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7pa19f77ff6bj.bib",
  "cited_by": 6,
  "doi": "10.1021/acssensors.6c01122",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "7pa19f77ff6bj",
  "issns": [
    "2379-3694"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.6c01122",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1602|Electrochemical sensors and biosensors"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167095308",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": "42387376",
  "published": "2026-07-02",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7pa19f77ff6bj.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:46Z",
      "native_id": "W7167095308",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.6c01122"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1602|Electrochemical sensors and biosensors",
      "subfield": "analytical"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Additively Manufactured in planta Integrated Microneedle–Microfluidic Sensing: Nondestructive Electrochemical Tracking of Glucose and Water Stress in Agricultural Crop Plants",
  "title_text": "Additively Manufactured in planta Integrated Microneedle–Microfluidic Sensing: Nondestructive Electrochemical Tracking of Glucose and Water Stress in Agricultural Crop Plants",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:39Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7pa19f77ff6bj",
  "venue": "ACS Sensors",
  "versions": []
}