Towards the detection of heavy metals in plants using THz

The pollution of soil and the resulting contamination of plants with heavy metals is a growing concern for, food safety and human health in industrialized countries. Until now, the exposure of plants is studied by means of complex procedures in the laboratory, in which a part of the plant is destroyed. In this study, we demonstrate a non-destructive method using Terahertz spectroscopy to detect heavy metal accumulation in leaves of A. halleri.