Researchers Create Oily Plants That Shine In The Dark

From plankton to mushrooms, including algae and even certain lichens, there are many organisms naturally capable of producing light. By combining biology with the science of materials, Chinese researchers have managed to give this property to fatty plants, thus producing very pretty phosphorescent plants which could even have practical utility.

It is far from the first time that a laboratory has been working on luminescent plants. Many attempts have already been made thanks to two methods. The first is based on genetic engineering: it consists in isolating genes which give natural luminescence, then transferring them to another species. The second consists in directly injecting particles emitting light, synthetic or natural origin, in the internal tissues of the targeted plant.

These experiences have already produced concrete results, but always with important limits. Those based on genetic engineering, for example, typically have a Range of fairly limited shadescentered around green. The direct injection of luminescent particles offers more flexibility at this level, but it often has difficulty in producing intense and durable light. For example, previous experiences based on nanoparticles derived from lucifrase (the characteristic enzyme of fireflies) produced only a low glow which disappeared almost completely after half an hour.

Phosphorescent fatty plants

In these new works, the researchers therefore tried to find particles of optimal size: small enough to circulate freely within the plant, but sufficiently voluminous to produce an intense glow. They finally opted for Phosphorus particles about 7 micrometers in diameter, almost the size of a human red blood cell.

It was still to find an ideal guinea pig. The team has chosen fatty plants from the Echeveria family, which have an important advantage in this context. They naturally grow in arid environments where rain is rare. Over the course of evolution, they have adapted to this constraint by widening the spaces between their cells, in order to be able to store and filter the slightest drop of available liquid.

The authors therefore tried to exploit these interstices, starting from the principle that they would allow the luminescent particles to diffuse effectively throughout the fabric of the plant. And the results were spectacular. Once “loaded” in light for a few minutes, the plants have started shine in the dark, sometimes for several hours. The intensity was there: according to the researchers, it was comparable to that of a small night light And sufficient to read a text.

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Decorative objects … in public lighting?

Building on this success, the team began to consider various practical applications. For example, they offer to create a whole range of luminescent fatty plants for purely decorative purposes. But, once mature, this concept could also be used in public space to create urban environments that are both organic and aesthetic.

“Take the world of Avatar, where light plants illuminate an entire ecosystem,” explains Shuting Liu, principal author of the study at the Southern China Agricultural University. “We wanted to materialize this vision thanks to materials already used in the laboratory. Imagine for example light trees replacing the lampposts, ”he suggests.

The study text is available here.