Au Bipyramids as NIR-II Contrast Agents for In Vivo Plant Imaging.

Abstract

In vivo plant imaging is crucial for understanding plant biology and the influence of external factors on plant health. While exogenous contrast agents are widely used in animal bioimaging to enhance contrast, track flows, and provide molecular specificity, their application in plant tissue remains challenging and underexplored. Herein, we highlight the shortcomings of contrast agents in optical coherence tomography of plant tissue while demonstrating the successful use of Au bipyramids (AuBPs) as effective NIR-II contrast agents in photoacoustic imaging, enabling spatiotemporal flow tracking in live Buttercrunch lettuce over 5 days. Furthermore, rigorous plant health studies showed no adverse effects of the AuBPs on the physiological properties of Buttercrunch lettuce 7 days postinfiltration. The use of AuBPs as contrast agents in plant imaging, combined with the versatility of their surface chemistry, opens the possibilities for studies with molecular specificity.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物体内の流れを可視化・追跡する光音響イメージング用造影剤を開発・実証しており、植物表現型状態の取得法が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

The paper reports Au bipyramid contrast agents for OCT/photoacoustic imaging of lettuce, with plant health measurements. No public phenotype/trait dataset, image/sensor data deposit, author analysis code, or trained model is mentioned. The Supporting Information (video and PDF) is hosted at the ACS article page but is

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