Surface Modification of Carbon Nanotubes with an Enhanced Antifungal Activity for the Control of Plant Fungal Pathogen

Abstract

The addition of surface functional groups to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) expands their application in engineering, materials, and life science. In the study, we explored the antifungal activities of MWCNTs with different surface groups against an important plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium graminearum. All of the OH-, COOH-, and NH2-modified MWCNTs showed enhanced inhibition in spore elongation and germination than the pristine MWCNTs. The length of spores decreased by almost a half from 54.5 μm to 28.3, 27.4, and 29.5 μm, after being treated with 500 μg·mL−1 MWCNTs-COOH, MWCNTs-OH, and MWCNTs-NH2 separately. Furthermore, the spore germination was remarkably inhibited by surface-modified MWCNTs, and the germination rate was only about 18.2%, three times lower than pristine MWCNTs. The possible antifungal mechanism of MWCNTs is also discussed. Given the superior antifungal activity of surface modified MWCNTs and the fact that MWCNTs can be mass-produced with facile surface modification at low cost, it is expected that this carbon nanomaterial may find important applications in plant protection.

Nanoarchitectures in Management of Fungal Diseases: An Overview

“…Thus, after treatment with a concentration of 500 µg/mL of MWCNTs containing various surface groups (COOH-, NH 2 -, and OH-), the spore length reduced from 54.5 µm to 28.3 µm, 29.5 µm, and 27.4 µm, respectively. Further, the germination of the spore was interestedly inhibited to about 18.2% of the germination rate by f -MWCNTs, which was three-fold lesser than that of the pristine MWCNTs [88].…”

Effect of engineered nanoparticles on soil biota: Do they improve the soil quality and crop production or jeopardize them?

“…In laboratory Bramhanwade, Shende, Bonde, Gade, and Rai () showed that copper (Cu) ENP has antifungal activity on Fusarium sp, which is the causal agent of disease on crop plants, such as cotton, cowpea, lentils, sugar beet, potato, and pine. Besides, Wang, Zhou, and Chen () found that multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different surface groups against an important plant pathogenic fungus, that is, Fusarium graminearum Schwabe. In the research of Banik and Pérez‐de‐Luque (), they found that copper oxychloride (CoC) at 50 mg L −1 recorded a growth inhibition of 76% regarding the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands in vitro, compared to the control.…”

“…In laboratory Bramhanwade, Shende, Bonde, Gade, and Rai (2016) showed that copper (Cu) ENP has antifungal activity on Fusarium sp, which is the causal agent of disease on crop plants, such as cotton, cowpea, lentils, sugar beet, potato, and pine. Besides, Wang, Zhou, and Chen (2017) found that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Terekhova et al, 2017). It leads to different changes in the physicochemical and biological soil properties such as pH, toxicity, salinity, organic matter, and natural abundance and diversity (Samanta & Mandal, 2017).…”

The Potential Application of Nanoparticles on Grains during Storage: Part 2 – An Overview of Inhibition against Fungi and Mycotoxin Biosynthesis

“…Conclusively, increasing the concentration of CNPs (62.5 < 125 < 250 < 500 μg/mL) increased the fungicidal potency. In a similar study, Wang et al [202] reported that modifying the surface of MWCNTs with ▬OH, ▬COOH, and ▬NH 2 improved the fungicidal activity (inhibition in spore elongation and germination) than the unmodified CNTs. It is hypothesized that modified CNTs formed a stable dispersions, which favoured interaction with spores, as a results enhanced antifungal activity.…”