Researchers working on a new technique called "plant nanobionics" have successfully enabled unsuspecting spinach plants with the ability to detect bombs and other explosives. Now, spinach isn't just a salad green anymore; it's has also become a self-sufficient monitoring device.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have embedded the leaves of spinach plants with carbon nanotubes, which give the innocent plants the ability to detect bombs and send information to a handheld device like a smartphone.
This project is one of the first demonstrations of the novel technology which involves the engineering of electronic systems into plants in order to give them artificial uses.
"The goal of plant nanobionics is to introduce nanoparticles into the plant to give it non-native functions," Michael Strano, Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the leader of the research team, told MIT News. Their research is published in Nature Materials.
The nanotube-embedded spinach detects bombs through nitroaromatics, which are chemical compounds found in landmines and other explosives. The spinach plant absorbs groundwater through its roots, and when it detects the chemical compound, the nanotubes release a fluorescent signal that can be seen through an infrared camera.
When the camera, which can be attached to a computer, detects the infrared signals, it will then send an email to its user.
Researchers say that the same technique could be applied to other living plants aside from spinach. They also tried to program the spinach to detect the chemical dopamine, noted The Verge.
Strano says this novel demonstration shows how humans can interact with plants. He also said that plants can be used to warn about environmental conditions such as drought, as well as warn people of pollutants in the environment.
This new technology could prove useful and more convenient compared to installing other technical or manual monitoring equipment in nearby surroundings. Not only that, the presence of more plants in any area is helpful in improving air quality, too.
