Biohybrid plants with electronic roots via in vivo polymerization of conjugated oligomers

In this work we present biohybrid plants with an electronic root system. We demonstrate that
by simply watering plants with a conjugated oligomer solution, the oligomers polymerize on
the roots forming an extended network of easily accessible conductors. The plant’s biocatalytic
machinery drives the polymerization and templates the polymer along its tissue. The integrated
mixed ionic-electronic conductors maintain their functionality over weeks and as a proof of
concept we demonstrate energy storage. While previous examples of electronic
functionalization of plants focused on plant cuttings in this work, we functionalized intact
plants that maintain their biological functions and continue to grow and develop. Plants were
not affected by the electronic functionalization but adapted to this new hybrid state by
developing a more complex root system. Furthermore, we augment electronic functionality to
the root system that it is highly responsive and adaptive to its environment and therefore
promising for a broad range of biohybrid applications. The implications of the work go beyond
biohybrid systems. The work contributes to advancing bio-fabrication- using a biological
organism to fabricate functional materials/composites, to the understating of biological tissue
– artificial material interaction and broadly on the development of communication pathways
between electronics and biology in a seamless manner.