OU Researchers Develop Pollen-Based Anti-Counterfeiting Technology
The technology uniquely combines the natural microscopic identity of taxonomically authenticated pollen with the optical signature of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials.
Hyderabad:Osmania University researchers have developed “PollenSignum,” a combinatorial pollen-based nano-optical authentication technology that can be used to anti-counterfeiting and forensic authentication of valuable articles.
The technology uniquely combines the natural microscopic identity of taxonomically authenticated pollen with the optical signature of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials. The pollen provides a biological signature, based on its distinctive morphology and exine architecture, while the ZnO component provides a measurable optical/fluorescent signature.
Researchers said PollenSignum is its combinatorial and spatial coding capability. The patent describes an initial reference library of 12 distinguishable pollen taxa, providing a theoretical 4,096 non-empty pollen combinations, with further expansion possible through nano-optical signatures and spatial positioning.
The authentication marker can be incorporated into security documents, currency substrates, security threads, pharmaceutical packaging, jewellery, gemstones, luxury products, certificates, collectibles and other high-value articles. It can also be enclosed in a sealed, optically interrogable micro-container, enabling both rapid optical screening and subsequent microscopic/forensic verification.
The concept was developed by Dr A. Vijaya Bhasker Reddy and D. Nirmala, with B. Vijay Kumar, at Osmania University. The name PollenSignum combines “Pollen” with the Latin “Signum,” meaning sign, mark, symbol or identifier.
The Indian patent, titled “PollenSignum: A combinatorial pollen-based nano-optical authentication system with spatially encoded biological signatures,” was filed on 19 September 2026 and published by the Intellectual Property Office, India on 2 October 2026.
PollenSignum represents an interdisciplinary convergence of botany, palynology, nanotechnology, optical science and security technology, opening a potential new platform for biological–nano-optical authentication and forensic traceability.
