Evaluating the In vivo Efficacy of Copper-Chitosan Nanocomposition for Treating Vascular Wilt Disease in Date Palm

Abstract

Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, as one of the most important fruit crops in Egypt and many other countries, can be affected by many fungal diseases, among which the vascular wilt disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, is considered the most deteriorating one. This study aims at evaluating the efficiency of Copper-Chitosan Nanopcomposition for treating the vascular wilt disease in date palm. The study relies mainly on beleaguering the disease via the doublerole functionality of copper-chitosan nanocomposition, i.e. its potential antifungal effect on the fungal pathogen, besides its capability to enhance the immune responses of the infected plant. In this regard, chitosan nanoparticles were prepared according to the ionic gelation method, whereas copper nanoparticles were prepared according to the chemical reduction method. Physicochemical characterization of both chitosan and copper nanoparticles was performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD).Copper-chitosan nanocomposition could significantly reduce the vascular wilt disease severity; this means that the nanocomposition can be used in the future for developing new nanofungicides to control such pathogens.

Optical properties of copper helical nanostructures: the effect of thickness on the SPR peak position

“…In particular, nanostructured Cu films possess distinctive mechanical, thermal, magnetic, electric and catalytic properties, which make them suitable for application in many fields such as industry, medicine, and the environment [29]. Furthermore, Cu thin films could be used in solar cells [30], diodes [31], catalysis [32], high-speed integrated circuits [33,34], sensors [35], fungicidal and nematicidal applications [36][37][38], etc. The grain size control of nanostructured Cu thin films and its effect on physical properties are very important for electronic applications [39], since the deposition process of semiconductors determines the grain size-band gap dependence [40].…”