Eco-photonics: : Micro-encapsulated probe as implantable sensor for monitoring the physiological state of water organisms

Nowadays there is a growing interest to the natural evolutionary changes and especially those driven by environmental pollution and climatic variations. Climate change in combination with human activities largely influences the environment and especially aquatic ecosystems. We develop an approach for non-invasive screening of stress felt by water organisms due to environmental variations. In particular, we offer real-time quantitative assessment of internal temperature and pH in small aquatic species, such as shrimps, fish and fish embryos. The approach is based on the measurements of fluorescent and luminescent spectra obtained, respectively, from microencapsulated fluorescent dyes and upconversion particles embedded into the aquatic animals in vivo.