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Surface Potential Measurement of Bacteria Using Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
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Evaluating Bacterial Nanocellulose Interfaces for Recording Surface Biopotentials from Plants
James Reynolds1, Michael Wilkins1, Devon Martin1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 13, 2024
Summary
Bacterial nanocellulose electrodes offer a non-invasive method for plant electrophysiology, accurately tracking plant health and stress with minimal impact on leaf function and comparable signal quality to traditional electrodes.
Area of Science:
- Plant electrophysiology
- Biosensor development
- Agricultural technology
Background:
- Plant electrophysiology is crucial for monitoring plant health and stress in real-time.
- Current methods often use invasive or occlusive electrodes, limiting in vivo applications.
- Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) presents a promising biocompatible and flexible material for non-invasive sensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) based electrodes for plant surface electrophysiology.
- To compare the performance of BNC electrodes against standard wet gel and needle electrodes.
- To assess the impact of BNC electrodes on plant physiology, including chlorophyll content and transpiration.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of BNC electrodes with screen-printed carbon ink conductive traces.
- Optimization of BNC electrode properties (surface area, impedance) via annealing.
- Measurement of water vapor transfer rate and optical transmittance of BNC.
- Assessment of chlorophyll reduction and transpiration changes under BNC electrodes.
- Comparison of signal quality with standard electrodes during environmental stress induction.
Main Results:
- BNC electrode properties were tunable with annealing temperature and time.
- BNC electrodes exhibited minimal impact on plant tissue, with only 16% chlorophyll reduction and 20% transpiration reduction after extended periods.
- BNC electrodes demonstrated comparable signal quality (>0.9 correlation) to invasive needle electrodes for biopotential recordings.
- BNC electrodes outperformed wet gel electrodes in minimizing transpiration reduction.
Conclusions:
- BNC-carbon ink electrodes are a viable non-invasive alternative for plant electrophysiology.
- These electrodes offer a superior, low-impact solution for agricultural and environmental monitoring.
- The developed BNC electrodes show significant potential for advancing plant phenotyping and stress detection.
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