G-Quadruplex Network Engineering in Ionogels: Realizing Robust Biosensing Interfaces for Plant Electrophysiology

Area of Science:

• Plant electrophysiology
• Biosensing technology
• Materials science

Background:

• Establishing a reliable plant-machine interface for monitoring plant physiological conditions via electrophysiology is challenging.
• Noninvasive electrodes require stable, conformal biosensing interfaces with plant surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the key factors influencing the conformability of gel electrodes for plant biosensing.
• To develop an advanced ionogel electrode for high-fidelity plant electrophysiological signal acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Designed an ionogel by incorporating G-quadruplexes into a chemically cross-linked network.
• Characterized the ionogel's elastic modulus and toughness.
• Evaluated the ionogel electrode's performance in capturing plant electrophysiological signals, assessing contact impedance and signal-to-noise ratio.

Main Results:

• The ionogel exhibited a significantly reduced Young's modulus and enhanced toughness.
• Achieved robust conformal adhesion on complex plant surfaces, including hairy interfaces.
• Demonstrated high-fidelity signal capture with low contact impedance and high signal-to-noise ratio.
• Ensured signal authenticity and interface stability under disturbances.

Conclusions:

• Elastic modulus is critical for gel electrode conformability on plants.
• The developed ionogel electrode enables stable, noninvasive recording of plant electrical signaling.
• This advancement improves plant-machine interfaces for real-time monitoring and intervention.