Carbon Nanotubes Act as Contaminant Carriers and Translocate within Plants

Nanotechnology permits broad advances in agriculture. However, as it is still at a relatively early stage of development, the potential risks remain unclear. Herein, for the first time, we reveal the following: 1) the impact of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the accumulation/depuration be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2015-10, Vol.5 (1), p.15682-15682, Article 15682
Main Authors: Chen, Guosheng, Qiu, Junlang, Liu, Yan, Jiang, Ruifen, Cai, Siying, Liu, Yuan, Zhu, Fang, Zeng, Feng, Luan, Tiangang, Ouyang, Gangfeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/925/928
704/172/169
Accumulation
Contaminants
Cosmetics - analysis
Cosmetics - chemistry
Cosmetics - metabolism
Crops
Depuration
Developmental stages
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Humanities and Social Sciences
Kinetics
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
multidisciplinary
Mustard Plant - chemistry
Mustard Plant - growth & development
Mustard Plant - metabolism
Nanotechnology
Nanotubes
Nanotubes, Carbon - chemistry
Permeability
Pesticides - analysis
Pesticides - chemistry
Pesticides - metabolism
Pharmaceutical Preparations - analysis
Pharmaceutical Preparations - chemistry
Pharmaceutical Preparations - metabolism
Plant Leaves - chemistry
Plant Leaves - metabolism
Plant Roots - chemistry
Plant Roots - metabolism
Science
Spectrum Analysis, Raman
Transpiration
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Summary:Nanotechnology permits broad advances in agriculture. However, as it is still at a relatively early stage of development, the potential risks remain unclear. Herein, for the first time, we reveal the following: 1) the impact of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the accumulation/depuration behaviors of contaminants in crop, mustard ( Brassica juncea ) and 2) the permeability and transportability of MWCNTs in intact mature mustard plants. Using an in vivo sampling technique, the kinetic accumulation/depuration processes of several contaminants in mustard plans exposed to MWCNTs were traced and an enhancement of contaminant accumulation in living plants was observed. Meanwhile, we observed that the MWCNTs permeated into the roots of intact living plants (three months old) and were then transported to the upper organs under the force of transpiration steam. This study demonstrated that MWCNTs can act as contaminant carriers and be transported to the edible parts of crops.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep15682