Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Ion-selective organic electrochemical transistors (IS-OECTs), or biosensors, are miniaturised and much more sensitive to fluctuations of ion concentration than current sensors. This allows continuous detection of subtle changes with minimal damage to the plants. Potassium, the most abundant ion in plants, is important for growth and defence, its variations can be a sign of plant health.
Why this research matters?
Recognised by the World Economic Forum as one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025, autonomous biochemical sensing offers unprecedented insights into plant physiology. For the first time, we can dynamically track a specific ion pattern in vivo (inserted directly into a living plant) over several weeks.
The biosensors are also produced with low-cost manufacturing methods, compared with the current more complex and expensive methods. This innovative and cost-effective solution to plant monitoring has the potential for greater uptake across forestry and other agricultural and horticultural fields.
This sensing technology allows for closer monitoring of trees and plants, enabling faster and more accurate decision making about what the plant might need to thrive.
Our expertise
This work was led by the Bioeconomy Science Institute and funded by the MBIE Smart Ideas Fund, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge (UK) and Incheon National University (South Korea). Co-first author, Dalila Pasquini, has been supported by the Scion SSIF fund for her postdoctoral fellowship research. Mathias Sorieul, Alan Dickson, Stephanie Davy and Yi Chen contributed to the research.
We also acknowledge Michael Watt, Donald White, Priscilla Corbett-Lad, Dean Meason, Graham Coker, Anita Wylie, Matt Dunn and Michael Robertson for their technical assistance and discussions.
The article, Implantable Ion-Selective Organic Electrochemical Transistors Enable Continuous, Long‐Term, and In Vivo Plant Monitoring, was published in Advanced Science.
Read the full article here: Han, S., Pasquini, D., Sorieul, M., Boratto, MH., Gatecliff, L., Dickson, A., Jang, S., Davy, S., Malliaras, GG., and Chen, Y. (2025) Implantable Ion-Selective Organic Electorchemical Transistors Enable Continuous, Long-Term, and In Vivo Plant Monitoring. Advanced Science 2025. 12(41), e04283 https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202504283
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