A team of MIT engineers have developed a technology that can transform any type of plant into a low-intensity, glowing greenery that emits light for about four hours. Although the research is still in its early stages, the team hopes that the enhancement of this technology could lead to a major breakthrough in the lighting industry. “The vision is to make a plant that will function as a desk lamp—a lamp that you don’t have to plug in. The light is ultimately powered by the energy metabolism of the plant itself," said Michael Strano, MIT professor of chemical engineering and an author of the study, in a press release. "Our work very seriously opens up the doorway to streetlamps that are nothing but treated trees, and to indirect lighting around homes."
As part of Plant Nanobionics, a new research study established by Strano Research Group at MIT, the team used luciferase (the same enzyme that creates bioluminescence in different organisms such as fireflies), luciferin (a small molecule that emits light as a result of oxidization caused by the presence of a luciferase enzyme), and coenzyme A (a molecule that eliminates a reaction byproduct that obstructs luciferase's activity) to create a glowing effect in the tested plants. In order for these components to reach different parts of the plants, the team utilized Generally-Regarded-As-Safe particles (rated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration), including silica and biodegradable polymers like poly lactic-co-glycolic acid and chitosan.
"To get the particles into plant leaves, the researchers first suspended the particles in a solution," according to the same release. "Plants were immersed in the solution and then exposed to high pressure, allowing the particles to enter the leaves through tiny pores called stomata." In this study, the team also found that addition of nanoparticles carrying a luciferase inhibitor can turn off the light. "This could enable them to eventually create plants that shut off their light emission in response to environmental conditions such as sunlight."
The team hopes to develop a new method for using this technology in developing paint or spray that can be applied directly onto the plant leaves and ultimately create light-emitting plants.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the study was recently published in the scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society, Nano Letters.
