Nanoparticles make glowing leaves
Chlorophyll shows bioluminescence upon high wavelength (400 nm) ultra violet excitation. In contrast, the gold nanoparticles are excited at shorter wavelengths and emit at 400 nm. By implanting the nanoparticles in the plants, the chlorophyll in the leaves can be induced to produce a red emission. In addition, the nanoparticles were able to suppress emission blinking – a known problem for gold nanoparticles –as they have a strong surface plasmon resonance. Su says that this bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night once the efficiency is improved and are also planning to apply the same strategy to other plant biomolecules.
Original publication: Y. H. Su, S.-L. Tu, S.-W. Tseng, Y.-C. Chang, S.-H. Chang and W.-M. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2010
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