Fig. 6: Stand-off detection of EB-NS fluorescence in plants through low-cost and widely available imaging devices.
From: Exfoliated near infrared fluorescent silicate nanosheets for (bio)photonics
a Photograph of a plant of Arabidopsis thaliana placed in a low-cost stand-off imaging system, which consisted of a LED, NIR filters and a Si-CMOS camera. b Visible and NIR fluorescence images of EB-NS (≈0.1 mg mL−1) compared with other NIR nanomaterials and fluorophores at similar concentration (single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), indocyanine green (ICG)). Water is used as negative control. c Visible and NIR images of an Arabidopsis plant, which was infused with EB-NS (frame 1), SWCNTs (frame 2), and buffer only (frame 3). d The NIR fluorescence spectrum of the leaf confirms the presence of EB-NS and its strong emission compared to the leaf background. Both results demonstrate the high brightness of EB-NS compared to state-of-the-art NIR nanomaterials (SWCNTs) and that this platform can be applied for stand-off detection using a low-cost optical setup. e The EB-NS emission can even be detected without LED excitation under room light conditions.
