Liquid-induced colour change in a beetle: The concept of a photonic cell
| Autor: | Sébastien R. Mouchet, Jean-François Colomer, Olivier Deparis, Pierre Louette, Eloise Van Hooijdonk, Bao-Lian Su, Victoria Welch |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Materials science porosity Color 02 engineering and technology Bioinformatics 01 natural sciences Fluorescence Article 010309 optics Photonic bandgap materials Photonic crystals 0103 physical sciences Animals Photonic crystal Multidisciplinary Calcium salts Beetle biology Pigmentation business.industry Water Pigments Biological Penetration (firestop) 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Biocompatible material biology.organism_classification Coleoptera Beetle scale Biophysics Hoplia coerulea Colorimetry sense organs Photonics 0210 nano-technology business |
| Zdroj: | Scientific Reports |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Popis: | The structural colour of male Hoplia coerulea beetles is notable for changing from blue to green upon contact with water. In fact, reversible changes in both colour and fluorescence are induced in this beetle by various liquids, although the mechanism has never been fully explained. Changes enacted by water are much faster than those by ethanol, in spite of ethanol’s more rapid spread across the elytral surface. Moreover, the beetle’s photonic structure is enclosed by a thin scale envelope preventing direct contact with the liquid. Here, we note the presence of sodium, potassium and calcium salts in the scale material that mediate the penetration of liquid through putative micropores. The result leads to the novel concept of a “photonic cell”: namely, a biocompatible photonic structure that is encased by a permeable envelope which mediates liquid-induced colour changes in that photonic structure. Engineered photonic cells dispersed in culture media could revolutionize the monitoring of cell-metabolism. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|