Detection of Gaseous Ethylene Using Bodipy Ethylene Probes with Applications in Plant Biology

Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone that plays a large part in plant growth; by monitoring and detecting concentrations of gaseous ethylene, information on fruit ripening or flower growth can be provided and analyzed. This project proposes a gaseous ethylene detection system with applications in various fields, such as plant biology, environmental science, agriculture, and horticulture. Key objectives of the detector are accuracy, stability, speed of data retrieval, ease of operation, and simplicity. The project allows for an understanding of the most optimal detection set up that matches the objectives listed as closely as possible. The Michel Lab has developed several ruthenium based Bodipy Ethylene Probes (BEPs) based on olefin metathesis with varying kinetic and stability profiles, however these have almost exclusively been evaluated in solution to date. Initial evaluations will function similarly to the preliminary tests but will consist of evaluation of different substrates such as silica or variations of alumina, varying the amount of the probe used, adjusting spot sizes of substrate spotted on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates, and changing solvents. Thus far, data has been collected on at least 8 variations of probes, 2 solvents, various probes amounts and concentrations, and different substrates ranging from TLC plates to printer paper. The probes tested so far include BEP-4, SIPr-BEP-4, Neo-BEP-4, Phenoxy-BEP-4, 2-Ad-BEP-4, Con-BEP-4, SIPr-Ox-BEP-4, and Ox-NF5-BEP-5.