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March 27th, 2007

Nanoparticles could have a negative effect on plant growth

Abstract:
Nanomaterials, with at least one dimension of 100 nanometers or less, are increasingly being used for commercial purposes such as fillers, opacifiers, catalysts, semiconductors, cosmetics, microelectronics, and drug carriers. Nanoparticles with a size of between 1 and 100 nanometers fall in the transitional zone between individual atoms (or molecules) and the bulk material. Because the physicochemical properties of material on this scale can greatly differ from the corresponding bulk material, these nanomaterials can have the potential to generate unknown biological effects in living cells. As the discussion on potentially undesired side effects of engineered nanoparticles heats up there is an increasing amount of nanotoxicology research that gets undertaken and published. However, very few studies have been conducted to assess the toxicity of nanomaterials to ecological terrestrial species, particularly plants. In order to develop a comprehensive toxicity profile for manufactured nanoparticles, their phytotoxicity - the ability to cause injury to plants - has to be investigated. A new study examined the effects of five types of nanoparticles on seed germination and root growth of six higher plant species and observed that several types of the particles had significant inhibition on seed germination and root growth of the six plants. If confirmed, these results are significant in terms of use and disposal of engineered nanoparticles.

Source:
nanowerk.com

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