Nanomagnetic Plants (2011) involves the development and implementation of a novel interface to allow audience to visibility interact with plants.
Nanomagnetic Plants (2011) CABI Official Opening, UCL Centre of Biomedical Imaging
Nanomagnetic Plants explores scientific possibilities of having living plants respond visibly to touch. Using novel biomedical nanotechnology, a strategy to induce responsive motion in living plants was devised.
This involved internalising the biomedical magnetic nanoparticles within the plants resulting in movement when strong magnets were positioned near the plants.
Nanomagnetic Plants (2011) CABI Official Opening, UCL Centre of Biomedical Imaging
This work was inspired by
biomedical preclinical applications where magnetic nanoparticles were coated with drugs and guided to sites (e.g. brain and heart) for drug delivery inside living organisms (e.g. rats) using external magnets.
Magnetically actuated cress plants (2008)
The question was whether this nanotechnology could be applied to plants, and whether these particles could be internalised to induce movement that could be perceived by the naked eye.
The experiments began in 2007,
with successful results 2008. Movement was instantaneous (magnetically-supported), though slight, towards an external magnet, opening a way of performing a type of tactile plasticity in plants.
Nanomagnetic Plants (2011), Slade Research Centre
Nanomagnetic Plants (2011) CABI Official Opening, UCL Centre of Biomedical Imaging
A few months later premiered publicly for the first time at the opening launch of UCL Centre of Advanced Biomedical Imaging with over 300 attending guests.
The new multidisciplinary research centre for experimental biomedical imaging, was officially opened by the Provost and President of UCL, Malcolm Grant.
Nanomagnetic Plants was presented internationally at Techfest 2012 at IIT Bombay in 2012 with over 95000 attending guests.
Nanomagnetic Plants (2008/11) Techfest 2012, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India, January 2012
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