Nanosensor Applications in Plant Science

Abstract

Plant science is a major research topic addressing some of the most important global challenges we face today, including energy and food security. Plant science has a role in the production of staple foods and materials, as well as roles in genetics research, environmental management, and the synthesis of high-value compounds such as pharmaceuticals or raw materials for energy production. Nanosensors—selective transducers with a characteristic dimension that is nanometre in scale—have emerged as important tools for monitoring biological processes such as plant signalling pathways and metabolism in ways that are non-destructive, minimally invasive, and capable of real-time analysis. A variety of nanosensors have been used to study different biological processes; for example, optical nanosensors based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) have been used to study protein interactions, cell contents, and biophysical parameters, and electrochemical nanosensors have been used to detect redox reactions in plants. Nanosensor applications in plants include nutrient determination, disease assessment, and the detection of proteins, hormones, and other biological substances. The combination of nanosensor technology and plant sciences has the potential to be a powerful alliance and could support the successful delivery of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the health effects of nanomaterials and the high costs of some of the raw materials required has lessened their commercial impact.

Multilevel approach to plant–nanomaterial relationships: from cells to living ecosystems

“…Nanosensors developed for plant-related applications include plasmonic nanosensors, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based nanosensors, carbon-based electrochemical nanosensors, nanowire nanosensors, and antibody nanosensors. These nanoscale sensors allow us to monitor cellular functions, metabolic processes, spatiotemporal changes in plant compounds, and the presence of viral and fungal pathogens ( Shaw and Honeychurch, 2022 ). Additionally, nutrient-coated quantum dots enable the spatiotemporal tracking of organic and inorganic nutrient uptake and movement within plants, even being associated with mycorrhiza ( van’t Padje et al , 2021 ; Raven, 2022 ).…”

A meta-analysis of plant tissue O2 dynamics

“…Foils coated with O 2 -sensitive fluorescent dyes and optical O 2 sensor nanoparticles are often used for mapping O 2 on plant surfaces and their surroundings (Rudolph et al 2012;Brodersen et al 2014;Koren et al 2015). However, optical O 2 sensor nanoparticles have only seen limited application inside plants tissues due to their size of up to 600 nm (Schmälzlin et al 2005;Shaw and Honeychurch 2022). Because of microsensor popularity in plant research, >70% of the 1567 observations of plant tissue O 2 used in this study were obtained using an O 2 microsensor.…”

A Novel Paper-Based Electrochemical Biosensor Based on N,O-Rich Covalent Organic Frameworks for Carbaryl Detection

“…However, their instruments are expensive, the sample pretreatments are cumbersome and time-consuming, and they require a trained person for operation and complex sample pretreatment. Electrochemical sensors are rapid, simple, sensitive, reliable, and low cost, which make up for the shortcomings of the above technologies and meet the requirements of portable detection [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Electrochemical sensors have broad development space and application prospects in the rapid detection of pesticide residues [ 21 , 22 ].…”