Fluorescent Molecular Rotors Quantify an Adjuvant-Induced Softening of Plant Wax.

ABSTRACT: Epicuticular wax is the outmost layer of plant leaves that protects them from desiccation and penetration of harmful reagents. There is an intense industrial effort in the development of softening agents, adjuvants, that can adjust the permeability of the wax toward pesticides and, thus, play an important role in sustainable agriculture. However, mechanistic understanding of the structure and dynamic properties within the plant wax, particularly upon the application of adjuvants, is currently lacking. In this work, we demonstrate that fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) combined with molecular rotors, fluorescent probes sensitive to viscosity, can directly probe the microviscosity of amorphous and crystalline phases of model plant wax layers. Moreover, this approach is able to

SUBMITTER: Sherin PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11200253 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature