Abstract
The global food crisis is an issue affecting 1 billion people worldwide—it is critical that a solution be developed to provide the world’s citizens with alternative sources of food that are less energy-intensive. Both nanoparticles, molecules < 100 nm used in drug delivery, and antioxidants, molecules that inhibit oxidation reactions, have been individually studied to enhance plant growth; however, the combined effect has not been investigated. Using hydroponic, tissue culture, and hydrogel experiments, this project investigates whether a combined nanoparticle-antioxidant treatment of carbon nanoparticles and ascorbic acid (CNP-AOX) has a synergistic effect in enhancing plant growth. When tested using hydroponic experiments, NP-AOX showed significant increases in chlorophyll levels, media consumption, and plant weight compared to the other treatments. Tissue culture experiments showed that nanoparticles resulted in long roots, antioxidants resulted in dense roots, while CNP-AOX resulted in a combination of both. TEM revealed that antioxidants enabled the delivery of nanoparticles into cell organelles which may have contributed to their enhanced growth. CNP-AOX also increased soil moisture levels in the hydrogel experiments. Using CNP-AOX is economically feasible, costing less than $0.03 per L while conventional fertilizers will cost over a dollar for the same effects. The NP-AOX treatment can boost food production, decreasing the need for imports, and reducing the environmental impact of fertilizers, with particular benefits in northern communities combatting crop loss due to permafrost and drought.
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Acknowledgements
This work is a part of DJ’s High School Science Fair that was selected to represent Canada and placed 4th at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2019. DJ thanks the Sir Winston Churchill High School, especially the principal, Ms. Ann Gilmore, and the head of science, Mme. Julie Bedard, and Ms. Rikki DaCosta of Power Glen Public School for the constant encouragement and permission to engage in such a project with University of Guelph. The authors thank the help of the late Mr. Robert Harris, electron microscopy unit, University of Guelph.
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Jayasankar, D., Jayasankar, V. & Subramanian, J. NanoAOX—a novel nanoparticle and antioxidant mixture enhances the growth of plants in vitro and in vivo. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 58, 407–415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-021-10242-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-021-10242-9