The Emergence of Plant Nanobionics and Living Plants as Technology

Abstract

Plants are naturally abundant and display high sensitivity to ecological factors to thrive in diverse environmental conditions. As sessile organisms, they have evolved complex, internal, and interplant signaling pathways with distinct structures to promptly adjust to the constantly changing environment. In the past five years, the unique ways in which they exchange information with and function in the environment have inspired an emerging field of plant nanobionics, which describes the interface between living plants and nanotechnology to impart the former with novel and useful functions. The structural merits of plant organs and organelles have also inspired the creation of plant‐derived structures through biointerfacing with nanoparticles containing electronic and optical properties. Here, the emerging applications and vision of plant nanobionics are highlighted together with related plant‐inspired materials in potentially replacing the myriad devices in the everyday lives stamped out of plastic, containing circuit boards and consuming power from the electrical grid. Applications in environmental sensing, communication devices, and energy harvesting and conversion are comprehensively discussed.

Plant Nanobionic Sensors for Arsenic Detection

“…This provides a unique practical advantage in contrast to genetic engineering methods to produce biosensors for analyte detection in planta, which are only feasible in a limited number of plant species. [33] We further demonstrated the versatility of our nanosensor probe for imaging in both the NIR range as well as the visible spectra. To enable imaging of the probe in the visible region, we prepared self-assembled nanostructures comprising of SWNT, single-stranded (GT) 5 sequence and TO-PRO-1 (TP), a cyanine dye that intercalates with DNA.…”

“…[29][30][31] SWNTs offer unique advantages for longterm sensing applications in planta because they fluoresce in the near-infrared region away from the chlorophyll autofluorescence and do not photobleach. [32,33] In addition, their surface properties can be engineered to target different plant organs or subcellular organelles. [34][35][36] Arsenite is chosen as the target analyte because it is the predominant form of arsenic in anaerobic paddy soils which can be taken up efficiently by crops through silicon transporters in the roots.…”

Species-independent analytical tools for next-generation agriculture

“…There have been some promising developments in the engineering and application of new analytical tools to study plants in agriculturally relevant settings. Nanomaterials, defined as inorganic or organic matter with dimensions smaller than 100 nm, have unique physical and optical properties that can be harnessed for in vivo detection of plant signalling molecules 71,72 . Some nanoparticles, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), have photostable emission in the near-infrared region (NIR) away from the chlorophyll autoflorescence 73 .…”

“…Some nanoparticles, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), have photostable emission in the near-infrared region (NIR) away from the chlorophyll autoflorescence 73 . The sensitivity and selectivity of nanomaterials can also be engineered via facile modification of their surface chemistry 71,74 . These nanosensors can provide access to real-time information about plant health through non-destructive monitoring of endogenous signalling molecules and plant hormones.…”

“…By contrast, field-deployable miniaturized sensors could be cost-effective diagnostic tools to monitor plant health and development. The use of engineered nanoparticles, located within the plant tissues and subcellular compartments, may enable biochemical pathways to be studied selectively with a greater precision and at a shorter timescale than existing approaches 71,110 . Decoding plant signalling pathways non-destructively for agriculturally important plants as well as model systems ubiquitously explored in plant biology will lead to radically new agricultural technologies: from rapid plant phenotyping to early diagnostics of plant health status.…”