Tracing of dye molecules in living plants through NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+ fluorescent nanoprobes

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrated trace of dye molecules in living plants. The NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanoparticles probe was used to detect the rhodamine B (RhB) in bean sprout. It is found that the fluorescencedye can be efficiently imbibed during the growing process and the absorbance presented a position dependence effect, which was supported by the upconversion spectra and the fluorescent image characterization. In addition, the concentration of the residual RhB in bean sprout can be efficiently traced by the synthesized probe based on the fluorescent resonant energy transfer. Finally, the relation between the excitation power, concentration and the ratio of yellow to green emission are discussed in detail. These results can be helpful in understanding the RhB dye molecules absorbance process in vegetable growth and provide an efficient way to trace the residual dyes in vivo plant.