Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and.
Daucus carota
.(carrot),.were.used.in.the.study.of.phytotoxicity..The.surface.characteris-
tics.of.phenanthrene-loaded.and.nonloaded.nanoparticles.were.investigated.using.Fourier.
transform. infrared. spectroscopy.. It. was. found. that. when. the. phenanthrene. monolayer.
concentration. increased,. the. degree. of. the. root. elongation. inhibition. caused. by. the. par-
ticles.decreased..When.mixed.with.a.known.free.hydroxyl.radical.scavenger,.dimethyl.
sulfoxide.at.concentrations.from.0.5.to.1.0%,.the.nonloaded.particles.also.showed.decreased.
inhibition. of. root. elongation.. The. authors. propose. that. the. surface. characteristics. of. the.
particles.play.an.important.role.in.the.phytotoxicity.of.alumina.nanoparticles.
26.4 Plant-NanomaterialInteractions—Usesof
NanoparticlesforCompoundDeliverytoPlants
A.general.review.of.nanoparticles.in.higher.plants.appeared.in.Monica.and.Cremonini.
27
.
Another.article.focuses.on.the.importance.of.bionanotechnology.and.its.potential.impact.
on.crops.and.agriculture.
28
26.4.1 Silica Breaks through in Plants—The First Direct Plant Application
Despite.all.the.plant.work.on.environmental.toxicity.of.nanomaterials,.recognition.of.the.
real.impact.of.nanotechnology.on.plant.science.was.not.recognized.until.2007,.when.the.
delivery. of. DNA. to. plants. by. nanoparticle. carriers. was. reported.. The. paper. described.
the use.of.engineered.mesoporous.silica.nanoparticles.(MSNs).to.deliver.DNA.into.tobacco.
plant. protoplasts.
29
. MSNs. were. coated. with. plasmid. DNA. coding. for. green. luorescent.
protein.(GFP)..MSNs.and.DNA.formed.a.stable.complex,.as.deduced.by.the.detection.of.no.
free.DNA.in.solution..Treatment.of.tobacco.plant.protoplasts.with.the.above.MSN/DNA.
nanoparticles.gave.up.to.7%.transient.expression.of.the.GFP..In.addition,.the.MSN/DNA.
nanoparticles. were. coated. on. gold. particles. and. introduced. into. maize. using. biolistics.
technology.(see.Section.26.4.5.1)..A.paper.by.Torney.and.co-workers.was.widely.cited.and.
could.be.said.to.have.launched.the.interest.in.engineered.nanomaterials.and.application.of.
bionanotechology.in.the.agriculture.realm.
29,30
.Shortly.after.the.initial.study,.several.other.
papers.began.to.appear.that.used.nanoparticles.as.delivery.systems.to.plants.
26.4.2 Magnetic Particles as Delivery Systems
First,.magnetic.nanoparticles.were.used.to.carry.materials.into.plants,.and.indeed.to.use.
their.magnetic.properties.to.guide.transport.and.localization..
Cucurbita pepo
.plants.(mar-
row).were.cultivated.in.vitro.and.treated.with.carbon-coated.Fe.nanoparticles..Localization.
of.the.magnetic.nanoparticles.was.determined.using.light,.confocal,.and.electron.micros-
copy..Penetration.and.translocation.of.magnetic.nanoparticles.in.whole.living.plants.could.
be.observed.
31
A.study.by.Corredor.et.al.
32
.studied.penetration.and.movement.of.iron-carbon.nanopar-
ticles.in.plant.cells.and.in.living.plants.of.
Cucurbita pepo
..Carbon-iron.nanoparticles.were.
produced.by.the.Huffman-Kratchmer.arc.discharge.method..The.soot.contained.a.mixture.
of. carbon-coated. iron. particles. as. well. as. metal. particles.. The. mixture. was. treated. with.
HCl,.which.removed.the.metal.and.partly.functionalized.the.carbon-coated.iron.nanopar-
ticles.with.-COOH.groups..This.material.was.suspended.in.sodium.dodecyl.sulfate.(SDS).
and.applied.using.two.different.methods:.injection.and.spraying..When.the.material.was.
