Skip to content
Skip to content
  • News
  • Events
  • eBooks
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • News
  • Events
  • eBooks
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact
KNOWLEDGEBASE
  • About Us
  • Products

    Fluorescence Spectrometers

    • FLS1000 Photoluminescence Spectrometer
    • FS5 Spectrofluorometer
    • LifeSpec II Lifetime Spectrometer
    • Mini-tau Lifetime Spectrometer

    Raman Microscopes

    • RM5 Raman Microscope
    • RMS1000 Multimodal Confocal Microscope

    Transient Absorption

    • LP980 Transient Absorption Spectrometer

    FTIR Spectrometers

    • IR5 FTIR Spectrometer

    Lasers and LEDs

    • Pulsed Lasers
    • Gas Lasers
    • Customisation Options
    View All Products
  • Techniques
  • Applications
KNOWLEDGEBASE
Edit Content
  • About Us
  • Products
  • Techniques
  • Applications
  • Knowledgebase
  • eBooks
  • News
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  1. Home
  2. Blog Post
  3. Map of the Month – Autumn Leaves

BLOG

Map of the Month – Autumn Leaves

  • November 2, 2023
Edit Content

Welcome to Edinburgh Instruments’ blog celebrating our work in Raman, Photoluminescence, and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging. Every month, we aim to highlight our pick for Map of the Month to show how our Raman and fluorescence spectrometers can be used to reveal all the hidden secrets in your samples. 

Key Points 

  • Leaves change colours in autumn because they stop producing chlorophyll in response to drops in temperature and daylight hours.  
  • Chlorophyll produces a characteristic PL response, which can be detected using the RM5 Confocal Raman Microscope.  
  • We mapped the boundary between yellow and green colouration in a fallen leaf and observed changes in the chlorophyll PL response. 

November 

It is officially autumn at Edinburgh Instruments. The clocks have gone back, it is noticeably colder, and we are beginning to do our commutes in the dark with views of fireworks. Perhaps the most noticeable change is the emergence of red, orange, and yellow hues as trees enter dormancy and their leaves begin to change and fall. In this Map of the Month blog, we use photoluminescence microscopy to explore this phenomenon.  

Leaves are green because they contain chlorophyll, the chemical contained within chloroplasts in leaf cells that is an essential part of photosynthesis. It absorbs sunlight, giving plants energy vital to convert carbon dioxide into water and sugars. Plants must continuously synthesise chlorophyll to maintain consistent levels, but to do this, they require warm temperatures and sunlight. This is not a problem in the summer months, but it becomes more difficult in the autumn when temperatures and daylight hours drop. At this time of year, chlorophyll production slows, and since decomposing chlorophyll is not replenished, plant leaves begin to lose their green colour. The colouration changes to yellow, orange, and red because the remaining compounds, such as carotenoids and flavonoids, become dominant.  

We wondered if we could track this change using spectroscopy, so we picked a fallen leaf from outside our factory and placed it under the RM5 Confocal Raman Microscope for analysis, which is also capable of detecting PL. We identified an area where some remaining green pigmentation mapped its boundary with a yellow-coloured region (above). We used a 532 nm laser and a 300 gr/mm grating to detect PL emissions and saw that the green region on the leaf produced significantly more PL from a peak at 683 nm (the spectra, which are characteristic of chlorophyll, are shown below). The data suggests that the green section of the leaf contains much more chlorophyll than the yellow section.  

Enjoyed reading Map of the Month? Stay up to date with our latest MOTM, application notes, blogs and more by subscribing to our newsletter today!

RELATED PRODUCTS

RESOURCES

Tags:
  • Map of the Month
  • Life Science
  • RM5
  • RMS1000
  • Raman
Application Notes:
Featured Product:

RM5 Raman Microscope

View more »
Suggested Reading:

No results found.

Share:
PrevPrevious
NextNext

Keep up to date with the latest from Edinburgh Instruments

Join our mailing list and keep up with our latest videos, app notes and more!

LOCATION:
  • Edinburgh Instruments Ltd.
    2 Bain Square, Kirkton Campus, Livingston, EH54 7DQ.
  • sales@edinst.com
  • +44 1506 425 300
ABOUT:
  • About Us
  • Techniques
  • Applications
  • Knowledgebase
  • About Us
  • Techniques
  • Applications
  • Knowledgebase
PRODUCTS:
  • Fluorescence Spectrometers
  • Raman Microscopes
  • UV-Vis Spectrophotometers
  • Transient Absorption
  • FTIR Spectrometers
  • Lasers and LEDs
  • Customisation Options
  • Software
  • Upgrades
  • All Products
  • Fluorescence Spectrometers
  • Raman Microscopes
  • UV-Vis Spectrophotometers
  • Transient Absorption
  • FTIR Spectrometers
  • Lasers and LEDs
  • Customisation Options
  • Software
  • Upgrades
  • All Products
LEGALS:
  • News
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • News
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
SOCIALS:
Youtube Linkedin X-twitter Facebook
©2024 Edinburgh Instruments. Registered in England and Wales No: 962331. VAT No: GB 271 7379 37
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}