Chromatic covalent organic frameworks enabling in-vivo chemical tomography

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Plant Biology
• Chemical Sensing

Background:

• Chromatic Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) offer potential for biological interface sensing.
• Chemical tomography, or 3D chemical mapping, is crucial for understanding complex biological systems.
• Biocompatible matrices are essential for integrating sensors into living systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a COF-based sensor for in-vivo plant chemical tomography.
• To utilize silk fibroin (SF) microneedles for probing plant vasculature.
• To detect drought stress via alkalization of vascular fluid.

Main Methods:

• Integration of Schiff base COFs with tunable pKa into SF microneedles.
• Coating SF microneedles with COFs (120-950 nm).
• Utilizing smartphone technology for 3D in-vivo chemical gradient mapping.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated COF-integrated SF microneedles for plant vasculature probing.
• Successfully sensed vascular fluid alkalization as a drought stress biomarker.
• Achieved 3D in-vivo chemical tomography of plant tissues.

Conclusions:

• Chromatic COF sensors in SF microneedles enable 3D mapping of chemical gradients in plants.
• This technology provides a novel tool for in-vivo chemical tomography of complex biological environments.
• The developed sensors offer a pathway for multidimensional chemical mapping in previously inaccessible systems.