近日，华南农业大学的雷炳富及其研究团队取得一项新进展。经过不懈努力，他们将发光颗粒送入植物体内实现信息编码和存储。相关研究成果已于2024年8月28日在国际知名学术期刊《光：科学与应用》上发表。

本研究介绍了一种以H₃PO₄包覆的铝酸锶颗粒作为发光标记物，该标记物能够嵌入植物体内，在植物生长过程中进行信息编码和存储。H₃PO₄的包覆为SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺（SAO）提供了稳定性和增强的发光性能。研究人员使用SAO@H₃PO₄作为一种低损伤发光标记物，通过微针（MNs）贴片将其送入植物体内。嵌入植物体内的SAO@H₃PO₄展现出持续且未改变的高信噪比余晖发射，其发光强度在27天内保持在原始强度的约78%。

为了满足多样化的信息记录需求，研究人员设计了各种几何形状的微针来负载SAO@H₃PO₄，并且不同形状的发光信号可以通过设计的程序准确识别，相应的信息可以在计算机上方便地查看。此外，受二进制信息概念的启发，研究人员创建了具有特定发光点和非发光点排列的微针贴片，从而在叶片上形成不同的发光微针阵列。配备定制程序的先进相机系统可以准确识别并将这些标记映射到相应的记录信息。这些发现展示了植物体内低损伤发光标记物的潜力，为植物生长信息的便捷和广泛存储铺平了道路。

据悉，在智慧农业时代，植物生长信息的精准标记和记录给现代农业生产带来了挑战。

附：英文原文

Title: Delivery of luminescent particles to plants for information encoding and storage

Author: Li, Wei, Lin, Junjie, Huang, Wanyi, Wang, Qingrou, Zhang, Haoran, Zhang, Xuejie, Zhuang, Jianle, Liu, Yingliang, Qu, Songnan, Lei, Bingfu

Issue&Volume: 2024-08-28

Abstract: In the era of smart agriculture, the precise labeling and recording of growth information in plants pose challenges for modern agricultural production. This study introduces strontium aluminate particles coated with H₃PO₄ as luminescent labels capable of spatial embedding within plants for information encoding and storage during growth. The encapsulation with H₃PO₄ imparts stability and enhanced luminescence to SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺ (SAO). Using SAO@H₃PO₄ as a low-damage luminescent label, we implement its delivery into plants through microneedles (MNs) patches. The embedded SAO@H₃PO₄ within plants exhibits sustained and unaltered high signal-to-noise afterglow emission, with luminous intensity remaining at approximately 78% of the original for 27 days. To cater to diverse information recording needs, MNs of various geometric shapes are designed for loading SAO@H₃PO₄, and the luminescent signals in different shapes can be accurately identified through a designed program, the corresponding information can be conveniently viewed on a computer. Additionally, inspired by binary information concepts, MNs patches with specific arrangements of luminescent and non-luminescent points are created, resulting in varied luminescent MNs arrays on leaves. An advanced camera system with a tailored program accurately identifies and maps the labels to the corresponding recorded information. These findings showcase the potential of low-damage luminescent labels within plants, paving the way for convenient and widespread storage of plant growth information.

DOI: 10.1038/s41377-024-01518-x

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-024-01518-x