Printed Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Detecting Nutrients in Whole Plant Sap

Low-cost biosensors that can rapidly and widely monitor plant nutritional levels will be critical for better understanding plant health and improving precision agriculture decision making. In this work, fully printed ion-selective organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) that can detect macronutrient concentrations in whole plant sap are described. Potassium, the most concentrated cation in the majority of plants, is selected as the target analyte as it plays a critical role in plant growth and development. The ion sensors demonstrate high current (170 µA dec⁻¹) and voltage (99 mV dec⁻¹) sensitivity, and a low limit of detection (10 × 10⁻⁶ m). These OECT biosensors can be used to determine potassium concentration in raw sap and sap-like aqueous environments demonstrating a log-linear response within the expected physiological range of cations in plants. The performance of these printed devices enables their use in high-throughput plant health monitoring in agricultural and ecological applications.