Impedimetric Immunosensor for Detection of Plum Pox Virus in Plant Extracts

This paper concerns the development of an immunosensor for detection of Plum pox virus in plant extracts. The sensor was based on gold electrodes modified with: 1,6-hexanedithiol, gold nanoparticles, anti-PPV IgG polyclonal antibody and BSA. It was used for determination of the virus in extracts from plum (Prunus domestica) and tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves. The proposed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) immunosensor displayed a very good detection limit of 10 pg/mL and a wide dynamic range from 10 pg PPV/mL to 200 pg/mL. The presence of extracts from plant materials has no influence on the immunosensor's response. The immunosensor was capable of discriminating between samples from healthy plants and samples containing 0.01% of extract from infected plant material. The conditions for immunosensor regeneration are also presented.