One day, energy provided by batteries and electricity may be replaced by the replication of one of nature’s bright and luminous wonders: the glow produced by fireflies.

Syracuse University scientists recently replicated the light fireflies provide by using nanotechnology. The research team, led by Matthew Maye, assistant professor of chemistry, discovered that products with multicolor string of light could function with the energy created by fireflies, according to an article published by i09.com.

Nanotechnology uses semiconductive nanomaterials, also known as quantum dots, Maye said in an email. The quantum dots accepted the energy or light from the fireflies. Maye said this light was then emitted from the dots, allowing the color to change. This process is called Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer.

“The main impact of this discovery is that now researchers in the field of nanoscience have some design parameters for efficient interactions between bioluminescent biomaterials,” Maye said.

The idea for the project originated from a firefly expert’s presentation, which Maye attended. The presenter and Mayebegan collaborating on the project about a year and a half ago.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research through the Department of Defense funded the project, Maye said. He indicated that a project of this kind is expensive but did not specify how much the team received in funding.

SU graduate students and undergraduates majoring in chemistry and biochemistry made up a large portion of the research team, Maye said. He credited doctorate candidate Rabeka Alam for the project’s success.

“She is one of the top students at SU and has an amazing future ahead of her,” Maye said.

Throughout the course of a year, there were many highs and lows, Alam said in an email. In the beginning, she said, the researchers were not getting any type of result no matter how hard they tried, but this eventually changed.

“The high was definitely getting the system to work and being able to reproduce BRET
results with high efficiency,” Alam said.

Because the system can be used for medical imaging and night vision, Alam said, the discovery would have a significant effect.

Both Maye and Alam are currently working on the system’s second and third generations.

Said Maye: “If researchers in this field can make this process even more efficient, then it may be possible that in the future we will rely on biomaterials to generate energy, instead of using batteries.”

Published on June 22, 2012 at 12:00 am

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93