Fullerene-Enhanced Accumulation of p,p′-DDE in Agricultural Crop Species

Abstract

The effect of C(60) fullerene exposure on the accumulation of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE; DDT metabolite) by Cucurbita pepo L. (zucchini), Glycine max L. (soybean), and Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato) was determined. The plants were grown in 125 mL jars of vermiculite amended with 0 or 40 mg of C(60) fullerenes. Prior to planting, the jars were amended with 40 mL solution containing 100 ng/mL of p,p'-DDE with 0 or 100 mg/L humic acid. During three weeks of growth, plants were watered with the same p,p'-DDE containing solutions. Total shoot p,p'-DDE levels in nonfullerene exposed tomato, soybean, and zucchini were 26.9, 131, and 675 ng, respectively; total root DDE content for the three plants was 402, 5970, and 5830 ng, respectively. Fullerenes increased the shoot p,p'-DDE content of zucchini by 29%; contaminant levels in soybean shoots were decreased by 48% but tomato shoot content was unaffected. The root and total plant p,p'-DDE content of all three species was significantly increased by fullerene exposure; enhanced contaminant uptake ranged from 30 to 65%. Humic acid, regardless of fullerene presence or plant type, significantly decreased the p,p'-DDE uptake. Fullerenes were detected in the roots of all plants but were not detected in plant shoots in the initial study. In a follow up study with zucchini designed to maximize biomass for extraction, over half the analyzed stems contained fullerenes at 60.5 to 4490 ng/g. These findings show that the carbon-based nanomaterials may significantly alter the accumulation and potentially the toxicity of cocontaminants in agricultural systems.

Carbon nanomaterials: production, impact on plant development, agricultural and environmental applications

“…The accumulation of C70 was observed in vascular tissues, in surrounding cells and intercellular spaces. Similar to hydroxyfullerenes described above, uptake of fullerenes added to a vermiculite growth substrate was found in root systems of soybean (G. max), tomato (S. lycopersicum) and in both the roots and shoots of zucchini (C. pepo) [141,146]. Fullerene C60 accumulated mainly in the root tissue, but smaller quantities were detected also in leaves and stems [146].…”

“…However, in the recent past significant progress has been made in the development of techniques for CNMs quantification; fullerene C60 has been quantified in zucchini (C. pepo) stems using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-vis spectroscopic detection [141]. Another method for CNT quantification inside plant samples, based on microwaveinduced heating [188] has demonstrated extraordinarily high accuracy associated with low detection limits (<0.1 μg) and is now registered as a patent [189].…”

“…The authors speculated that a fullerene-trichloroethylene complex, formed in the nutrient solution was taken up by the plants. In another study [141] carried out in a vermiculite substrate, fullerene C60 (40 mg pot…”

Uptake and Accumulation of Engineered Nanomaterials and Their Phytotoxicity to Agricultural Crops

“…The first evidence that ENMs may change the uptake of environmental pollutants was provided by a study conducted in our lab in which we reported that the presence of nC 60 fullerene significantly enhanced the uptake of trichloroethylene by some wetland plants (Ma and Wang 2010). Recent work with agricultural crops grown in vermiculite confirmed that fullerene exposure significantly increased the accumulation of pesticide residues by cucumber in both root and shoot tissues (Torre-Roche et al 2012). The presence of fullerene also increased the root accumulation of pesticides by soybean and tomato by 30-65 %, but the shoot accumulation of pesticides by soybean was reduced by 48 % by the presence of fullerene.…”

Interactions between engineered nanomaterials and agricultural crops: implications for food safety

“…ENMs in agricultural soils can possibly affect the bioavailability of other soil pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, organochlorine pesticides, pharmaceuticals). For instance, C 60 significantly increased weathered chlordane uptake from soil by Lycopersicon esculentum or Glycine max whereas MWCNTs decreased chlordane and DDx accumulation in Cucurbita pepo, Zea mays, Lycopersicum sculentum, and Glycine max (De La Torre-Roche et al, 2012a;Kelsey and White, 2013). Nanoparticle Ag was found to decrease the p,p′-DDE content of Glycine max tissues more than bulk Ag (De La Torre-Roche et al, 2012b).…”