{"id":972,"date":"2017-12-12T16:53:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T08:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/?p=972"},"modified":"2017-12-12T16:53:23","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T08:53:23","slug":"wheat-gets-boost-purified-nanotubes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/12\/12\/wheat-gets-boost-purified-nanotubes\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheat gets boost from purified nanotubes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Keywords:\u00a0Wheat, Rice University, Purified nanotubes<\/div>\n
The introduction of purified carbon nanotubes appears to have a beneficial effect on the early growth of wheatgrass, according to Rice University scientists. But in the presence of contaminants, those same nanotubes could do great harm.

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The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron grew wheatgrass in a hydroponic garden to test the potential toxicity of nanoparticles. To their surprise, they found one type of particle dispersed in water helped the plant grow bigger and faster.

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Purified single-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in water promoted greater plant growth (center) than the nanomaterial-free control (left) after eight days of an experiment at Rice University.<\/em> Feeding plants tetrahydrofuran with the nanotubes (right) produced the opposite effect, stunting plant growth. Photos by Seung Mook Lee

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They suspect the results spring from nanotubes\u2019 natural hydrophobic (water-avoiding) nature. It \u00a0apparently facilitated the plants\u2019 enhanced uptake of water in one experiment.

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The research appears in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Environmental Science: Nano<\/a>.<\/span>

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The lab mounted the small-scale study with the knowledge that the industrial production of nanotubes will inevitably lead to their wider dispersal in the environment. The study cited rapid growth in the market for nanoparticles in drugs, cosmetic, fabrics, water filters and military weapons, with thousands of tons produced annually.

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Despite their widespread use, Barron said few researchers have looked at the impact of environmental nanoparticles \u2014 whether natural or man-made \u2014 on plant growth.

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The researchers planted wheatgrass seeds in multiple replicates in cotton wool and fed them with dispersions that contained raw single-walled or multi-walled nanotubes, purified single-walled nanotubes or iron oxide nanoparticles that mimicked leftover catalyst often attached to nanotubes. The solutions were either water or tetrahydrofuran (THF), an industrial solvent. Some of the seeds were fed pure water or THF as a control.

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Rice University researchers tested the effects of carbon nanotubes on the growth of wheatgrass. While some showed no effect, purified single-walled nanotubes in water (5) enhanced the plants\u2019 growth. The same nanotubes in a solvent (6) retarded their development. The photos at left show the plants after four days and at right after eight days, with odd-numbered plants growing in water and evens in a solvent. Numbers 1 and 2 are controls without nanotubes; 3-4 contain raw single-walled tubes; 5-6 purified single-walled tubes; 7-8 raw multi-walled tubes; 9-10 low-concentration iron-oxide nanoparticles and 11-12 high-concentration iron-oxide nanoparticles. Click on the image for a larger version. Photos by Seung Mook Lee<\/em>

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After eight days, the plantings showed that purified single-walled nanotubes in water enhanced the germination rate and shoot growth of wheatgrass. It grew an average of 13 percent larger than plants in plain water. Raw single- and multi-walled nanotubes and particles in either solution had little effect on the plants\u2019 growth, they found.

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However, purified single-walled nanotubes in THF retarded plant development by 45 percent compared to single-walled nanotubes in water. That suggests the nanotubes act as a carrier for the toxic substance.

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The concern, Barron said, is that if single-walled nanotubes combine with organic pollutants like pesticides, industrial chemicals or solvents in the environment, they may concentrate and immobilize the toxins and enhance their uptake by plants.

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Nothing seen in the limited study indicated whether carbon nanotubes in the environment, and potentially in plants, will rise up the food chain and be harmful to humans, he said.

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On the other hand, the researchers said it may be worth looking at whether hydrophobic substrates that mimic the positive effects observed in single-walled nanotubes could be used for high-efficiency channeling of water to seeds.

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\u201cOur work confirms the importance of thinking of nanomaterials as part of a system rather in isolation,\u201d Barron said. \u201cIt is the combination with other compounds that is important to understand.\u201d

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Seung Mook Lee is a former visiting student research assistant from Memorial High School in Houston. And now he is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. He is lead author of the paper. Co-authors are Rice research scientist Pavan Raja and graduate student Gibran Esquenazi. Barron is the Charles W. Duncan Jr.\u2013Welch Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice and the S\u00ear Cymru Chair of Low Carbon Energy and Environment at Swansea University, Wales (UK).

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The Welsh Government S\u00ear Cymru Program and the Robert A. Welch Foundation supported the research.

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Read the abstract at http:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlelanding\/2017\/en\/c7en00680b#!divAbstract<\/a>

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Source:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Rice University<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keywords:\u00a0Wheat, Rice University, Purified nanotubes The introduction of purified carbon nanotubes appears to have a beneficial effect on the early growth of wheatgrass, according to Rice University scientists. But in the presence of contaminants, those same nanotubes could do great harm. The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron grew wheatgrass in a hydroponic garden to… Continue reading Wheat gets boost from purified nanotubes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nWheat gets boost from purified nanotubes - agrinoon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/12\/12\/wheat-gets-boost-purified-nanotubes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wheat gets boost from purified nanotubes - agrinoon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keywords:\u00a0Wheat, Rice University, Purified nanotubes The introduction of purified carbon nanotubes appears to have a beneficial effect on the early growth of wheatgrass, according to Rice University scientists. 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