Fullerenol [60] Nano-cages for Protection of Crops Against Oxidative Stress: A Critical Review

Physiological Response, Oxidative Stress Assessment and Aquaporin Genes Expression of Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Exposed to Hyper-Harmonized Fullerene Water Complex

“…Because of their water solubility, newly discovered functionalized fullerenes have a wide range of potential applications. There are many data about the effects of different types of fullerenes on plant growth but the results of effects of hydroxylated fullerene derivatives (fullerols) are sporadic and still scarce, as summarized in [ 51 ]. We presented, for the first time, the results about the application of a new generation of nanosubstance, hydroxylated fullerene derivative (3HFWC nanosubstance), and evaluated their effect on plant growth.…”

“…Considering that oxidative stress can disturb and damage vital biomolecules, the balance between ROS production and neutralization is very important in plants exposed to different abiotic and biotic stresses. There are numerous reports about various engineered nanomaterials as potential candidates for improving plant nutrient status, but, at the same time, there are few reports on the use of nanomaterials to improve oxidative stress tolerance and enhance antioxidant capacity in plants [ 46 , 51 ]. This study could help us to understand how complex biological systems, such as whole plants, respond to long-term exposure to hydroxylated fullerene derivatives.…”

“…In general, it has been shown that fullerol has SOD properties in plants, suggesting that it may clear ROS directly [ 51 , 66 , 67 ]. The proposed direct reaction of fullerols with superoxide anion consider the action of fullerol as a catalyst which uses two molecules of O 2 − and water, resulting in H 2 O 2 , molecular oxygen, and a couple of hydroxyl radicals, and on that way mimic SOD activity [ 65 , 68 ].…”

“…The radical elimination by lower fullerols (with fewer OH groups) can be linked with sp2 carbons and OH − radical elimination by an addition reaction. In contrast, the fullerols with more OH groups, such as 3HFWC nanosubstance, tend to eliminate OH − via the second H-abstraction mechanism [ 51 , 65 ]. The efficiency of 3HFWC nanosubstance as a radical sponge, like that of all hydroxylated fullerenes, lies in a fact that a single molecule can quench multiple types of free radicals.…”

“…The efficiency of 3HFWC nanosubstance as a radical sponge, like that of all hydroxylated fullerenes, lies in a fact that a single molecule can quench multiple types of free radicals. As a result, they are much more beneficial than naturally occurring antioxidants which generally act as specific radical quenchers and can only handle one or two electrons at a time [ 51 ]. Our results confirmed the ability of a new generation of hydroxylated fullerenes to modulate oxidative stress response and H 2 O 2 production as well as activation of stress-related enzymes.…”