Redefining green technology
You hear the term ‘green technology’, and you probably think of energy-efficient devices or technological solutions for fighting climate change. But plants and trees? Not so much. Yet for the EU-funded HyPhOE project, plants are the original green technology. “In a sense, photosynthesis is a natural technology, an efficient process for transforming sunlight into energy and removing carbon from the air,” says Eleni Stavrinidou, an associate professor in Organic Electronics at Linköping University. According to Stavrinidou, who serves as the project’s coordinator, HyPhOE aims to redefine green technology. “As the boundary between technology and nature fades, nature is being used as part of technology, and technology is enhancing nature,” she adds. “Our goal was to accelerate this convergence by establishing a revolutionary symbiosis between photosynthetic organisms and technology.” To do this, researchers focused on developing advanced biohybrid systems based on photosynthetic organisms and smart materials and devices. “Ultimately, our work paves the way towards a world where energy systems are based on electronically enhanced plants, and environmental monitoring is done via sensor-infused plants,” explains Stavrinidou.
Getting to the root of the matter
One of the project’s main objectives was to develop plant-based biohybrid systems that do not compromise the growth and development of the plant itself. “While previous work on the electronic functionalisation of plants focused on plant cuttings, our project developed a method for functionalising intact plants, allowing them to maintain their biological functions and continue to grow and develop,” remarks Stavrinidou. To illustrate, HyPhOE biohybrid plants feature an electronic root system that can be used to store energy. “These plants were not affected by the electronic functionalisation of their root system, but in fact adapted to this new hybrid state by developing more complex roots,” notes Stavrinidou. The project also developed bioelectronic devices for monitoring and modulating a plant’s physiology. Taking inspiration from the biomedical field, researchers created sensors that can be embedded into a plant and provide real-time monitoring of, for example, sugar variations in the vascular tissue of trees. Furthermore, researchers used a bioelectronic drug delivery device to transport phytohormones into the leaves of intact plants. “This allowed us to electronically control the pores responsible for gas exchange and transpiration, a capability that could prove helpful in our fight against climate change,” says Stavrinidou.
Vast potential and more research ahead
According to Stavrinidou, the HyPhOE project succeeded at demonstrating the vast potential for using bioelectronics and biohybrid systems in plant science. “This was a visionary project that developed new technologies based on and for photosynthetic organisms,” she concludes. “Although we did not achieve all our goals 100 %, our work has paved the way for continued research in the field.” Some of that research is already happening via a new grant awarded to Stavrinidou. Building on the HyPhOE project’s success, this new project is focused on developing biohybrid systems that have living characteristics based on plant cells.
Keywords
HyPhOE, green technology, plants, climate change, photosynthesis, energy, biohybrid, bioelectronics
