Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
safe and easy to handle. Besides these, plants and/or their extracts help in biological
synthesis of some metallic nanoparticles which is more ecofriendly and gives a con-
trolled synthesis with well-defined size and shape (Kumar et al.
2009
; Sharma et al.
2009
). Therefore, with increased advances made by using nanobiotechnology in the
agricultural sector, it can be expected to become a major economic driving force
and benefit consumers as well as farmers with no harmful effect on the ecosystem.
2 Types of Nanomaterials
Depending on their existence in nature, nanomaterial is a term that includes all
nanosized materials, including natural, incidental and engineered nanomaterials.
2.1 Natural Nanomaterials
Natural nanomaterials have been in existence since the beginning of the earth'
history, and still occur in the environment. Materials that are a result of natural
process with a structure approximately 1-100 nm are called natural nanomaterials.
For example, particles arising from volcanic eruptions, sea spray, and atmospheric
gas-to-particle conversion. Many important functions of living organisms also take
place at the nanoscale level. The human body uses natural nanoscale materials,
such as proteins and other molecules, to control many systems and processes of
the body.
2.2 Incidental Nanomaterials
Incidental nanomaterials are defined as the materials with a structure approximately
1-100 nm that are produced as a result of manmade industrial processes such as
diesel exhaust, coal combustion, welding fumes, etc.
2.3 Engineered Nanomaterials
Materials that are purposefully manufactured with nanoscale dimensions (1 and
100 nm), can be termed as engineered nanomaterials. Engineered particles of very
small dimension attract enormous interest of researchers and are of potential benefit
to society due to their properties which are different from larger particles of the
same chemical composition. Engineered nanomaterials have received a particular
attention for their positive impact in improving many sectors of economy, including
