Lab on a Chip Vol. 17 No. 25

Artwork featured on the cover of Lab on a Chip Vol. 17 No. 25. Created for Dr. Volodymyr Koman and Dr. Michael Strano from MIT’s Chemical Engineering Department for their paper "Persistent drought monitoring using microfluidic-printed electro-mechanical sensor of stomata in planta."

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/lc/c7lc00930e#!divAbstract

The illustration depicts sensors that can be printed onto plant leaves to detect when plants are experiencing water shortage. When the plant's stomata (pores) close, the sensors touch and complete an electrical circuit that can be measured, allowing researchers to detect when the pores open and close. The sensors have potential applications for use on crops and in helping to better understand plant functions to engineer drought-resistant plants.

MIT news article: http://news.mit.edu/2017/sensors-applied-plant-leaves-warn-water-shortage-1108