Polymer nanoparticles pass the plant interface

Abstract

As agriculture strives to feed an ever-increasing number of people, it must also adapt to increasing exposure to minute plastic particles. To learn about the accumulation of nanoplastics by plants, we prepared well-defined block copolymer nanoparticles by aqueous dispersion polymerisation. A fluorophore was incorporated via hydrazone formation and uptake into roots and protoplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana was investigated using confocal microscopy. Here we show that uptake is inversely proportional to nanoparticle size. Positively charged particles accumulate around root surfaces and are not taken up by roots or protoplasts, whereas negatively charged nanoparticles accumulate slowly and become prominent over time in the xylem of intact roots. Neutral nanoparticles penetrate rapidly into intact cells at the surfaces of plant roots and into protoplasts, but xylem loading is lower than for negative nanoparticles. These behaviours differ from those of animal cells and our results show that despite the protection of rigid cell walls, plants are accessible to nanoplastics in soil and water.

Tunable Nanomaterials of Intracellular Crystallization for In Situ Biolabeling and Biomedical Imaging

“…Not only have inorganic nanomaterials been synthesized in-plant but also organic fluorescent nanomaterials have also been attempted (Figure a). The positively charged precursors gathered on the root surface and were not absorbed by the protoplasts . The negatively charged precursors gathered slowly, but with the increase of time, they could produce fluorescence in protoplasts.…”

“…The positively charged precursors gathered on the root surface and were not absorbed by the protoplasts. 137 The negatively charged precursors gathered slowly, but with the increase of time, they could produce fluorescence in protoplasts. Although the neutral precursor rapidly infiltrated into the protoplast, it did not aggregate (Figure 4b).…”

“…169 Under the condition of positive charge, plants can generate fluorescent organic quantum dots. 137 This hints that strategies for biosynthetic fluorescence quanta to achieve chemical biomedical imaging of pathological tissues are feasible and have potential.…”

Toxicity Mechanisms of Nanoplastics on Crop Growth, Interference of Phyllosphere Microbes, and Evidence for Foliar Penetration and Translocation

“…To determine the mass of Eu in the PS-Eu particles, the PS-Eu NPs solution (0.5% v/v) was diluted with deionized water to nine concentration gradients (1,2,4,5,10,20,30,40, and 50 μg/L). The particles were then analyzed by digestion with nitric acid (HNO 3 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) (mixture 3:1 v/v) and heated to 160 °C for 3 h. Then, the solution was diluted with 2% (v/v) HNO 3 to volume and subjected to ICP-MS (Elan DRC-e, PerkinElmer, USA).…”

Pre-emergence herbicidal efficiency and uptake of atrazine-loaded zein nanoparticles: a sustainable alternative to weed control

“…Parkinson et al evaluated the absorption of soft plastic polymeric nanoparticles, with variable sizes (20-100 nm), by roots of Arabidopsis thaliana and observed that the positively charged particles become accumulated around root surfaces and were not taken up by roots or protoplasts. 70 Moreover, the absorption of nanoparticles was inversely proportional to the size, and Li et al found evidence that polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate (200 nm) nanoparticles can penetrate wheat and lettuce plants using the crack-entry mode at lateral Environmental Science: Nano Paper root emergence sites. 67 The fluorescent labeling observed in the absorbent hairs indicates that there could also be an absorption pathway for zein nanoparticles, as has been previously reported for the absorption of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles.…”