Something as delicate as a rose can also have superpowers , as just announced by a group of researchers from Linköping University in Sweden, who have succeeded in implanting electronic circuits in this flower. And what is such a thing for? At the moment, it is not clear: they have simply shown that it could be done, although Swedish scientists suggest that thanks to their advances it will be easier to manipulate the physiology of plants to, for example, accelerate their growth or turn them into living fuel cells. And without the need to modify the DNA.
As explained in the journal Science Advances by Magnus Berggren and Ove Nilsson, from the Organic Electronics Laboratory of the aforementioned university, the researchers immersed the stem of a rose in a solution of PEDOT, a type of conductive polymer that is used to print electronic circuits. The polymer was then absorbed by the plant’s own vascular system, which self-assembled and formed wires up to four inches long. So they were able to introduce PEDOT covered transistors and start a simple electronic circuit in the rose.
In another example, the experts applied the technique known as “vacuum infiltration” to also introduce PEDOT, this time mixed with cellulose nanofibers, in the rose leaves. Later, when an electric current was applied, these leaves subtly changed color.
“Whereas before we lacked tools to measure the concentration of different molecules in living plants, now we will be able to influence the concentration of the substances that regulate their development and growth. It will also be possible to place sensors on them and transform the sugar produced by photosynthesis into electricity or even create new materials ”, declared Berggren.
Image: Eliot Gómez / Linköping University
