Tag Archives: Liwei Liu

Use AI to reduce worries about nanoparticles in food

A June 16, 2021 news item on ScienceDaily announces research into the impact that engineered metallic nanoparticles used in agricultural practices have on food,

While crop yield has achieved a substantial boost from nanotechnology in recent years, alarms over the health risks posed by nanoparticles within fresh produce and grains have also increased. In particular, nanoparticles entering the soil through irrigation, fertilizers and other sources have raised concerns about whether plants absorb these minute particles enough to cause toxicity.

In a new study published online in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers at Texas A&M University have used machine learning [a form of artificial intelligence {AI}] to evaluate the salient properties of metallic nanoparticles that make them more susceptible for plant uptake. The researchers said their algorithm could indicate how much plants accumulate nanoparticles in their roots and shoots.

A June 16, 2021 Texas A&M University news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, describes the research, which employed two different machine learning algorithms, in more detail,

Nanoparticles are a burgeoning trend in several fields, including medicine, consumer products and agriculture. Depending on the type of nanoparticle, some have favorable surface properties, charge and magnetism, among other features. These qualities make them ideal for a number of applications. For example, in agriculture, nanoparticles may be used as antimicrobials to protect plants from pathogens. Alternatively, they can be used to bind to fertilizers or insecticides and then programmed for slow release to increase plant absorption.

These agricultural practices and others, like irrigation, can cause nanoparticles to accumulate in the soil. However, with the different types of nanoparticles that could exist in the ground and a staggeringly large number of terrestrial plant species, including food crops, it is not clearly known if certain properties of nanoparticles make them more likely to be absorbed by some plant species than others.

“As you can imagine, if we have to test the presence of each nanoparticle for every plant species, it is a huge number of experiments, which is very time-consuming and expensive,” said Xingmao “Samuel” Ma, associate professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “To give you an idea, silver nanoparticles alone can have hundreds of different sizes, shapes and surface coatings, and so, experimentally testing each one, even for a single plant species, is impractical.”

Instead, for their study, the researchers chose two different machine learning algorithms, an artificial neural network and gene-expression programming. They first trained these algorithms on a database created from past research on different metallic nanoparticles and the specific plants in which they accumulated. In particular, their database contained the size, shape and other characteristics of different nanoparticles, along with information on how much of these particles were absorbed from soil or nutrient-enriched water into the plant body.

Once trained, their machine learning algorithms could correctly predict the likelihood of a given metallic nanoparticle to accumulate in a plant species. Also, their algorithms revealed that when plants are in a nutrient-enriched or hydroponic solution, the chemical makeup of the metallic nanoparticle determines the propensity of accumulation in the roots and shoots. But if plants are grown in soil, the contents of organic matter and the clay in soil are key to nanoparticle uptake.

Ma said that while the machine learning algorithms could make predictions for most food crops and terrestrial plants, they might not yet be ready for aquatic plants. He also noted that the next step in his research would be to investigate if the machine learning algorithms could predict nanoparticle uptake from leaves rather than through the roots.

“It is quite understandable that people are concerned about the presence of nanoparticles in their fruits, vegetables and grains,” said Ma. “But instead of not using nanotechnology altogether, we would like farmers to reap the many benefits provided by this technology but avoid the potential food safety concerns.”

This image accompanies the paper’s research abstract,

[downloaded frm https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c01603]

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Prediction of Plant Uptake and Translocation of Engineered Metallic Nanoparticles by Machine Learning by Xiaoxuan Wang, Liwei Liu, Weilan Zhang, and Xingmao Ma. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 11, 7491–7500 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c01603 Publication Date:May 17, 2021 Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

More on quantum dots: a toxicity study; Merck action in Israel

I have two items on quantum dots today. The first concerns a toxicity study performed on primates at the University of Buffalo (NY, USA). From the May 22, 2012 news item by Will Soutter for Azonano,

A multi-institute toxicity study on quantum dots in primates has discovered that these nanocrystals are safe for a period of one year.

This finding is encouraging for researchers and physicians looking for novel techniques to treat diseases such as cancer using nanomedicine. The organizations involved in the study included the University at Buffalo, Nanyang Technological University, ChangChun University of Science and Technology, and the Chinese PLA General Hospital.

On digging a little further, I found this information on the University of Buffalo website, from their May 21, 2012 news release,

— Tiny luminescent crystals called quantum dots hold great promise as tools for treating and detecting diseases like cancer.

— A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found cadmium-selenide quantum dots to be safe over intervals of time ranging from three months to a year. The study is likely the first to test the safety of quantum dots in primates.

— The authors say more research is needed to determine quantum dots’ long-term effect on health; elevated levels of cadmium from the quantum dots were found in the primates even after 90 days.

The research, which appeared on May 20 in Nature Nanotechnology online , is likely the first to test the safety of quantum dots in primates.

In the study, scientists found that four rhesus monkeys injected with cadmium-selenide quantum dots remained in normal health over 90 days. Blood and biochemical markers stayed in typical ranges, and major organs developed no abnormalities. The animals didn’t lose weight.

Two monkeys observed for an additional year also showed no signs of illness.

The first  results are hopeful but there are some concerns,

The new toxicity study — completed by the University at Buffalo, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, China’s ChangChun University of Science and Technology, and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University — begins to address the concern of health professionals who worry that quantum dots may be dangerous to humans.

The authors caution, however, that more research is needed to determine the nanocrystals’ long-term effects in primates; most of the potentially toxic cadmium from the quantum dots stayed in the liver, spleen and kidneys of the animals studied over the 90-day period.

The cadmium build-up, in particular, is a serious concern that warrants further investigation, said Ken-Tye Yong, a Nanyang Technological University assistant professor who began working with Prasad [Paras N. Prasad] on the study as a postdoctoral researcher at UB.

Unusually, this article seems to be open access at Nature Nanotechnology,

A pilot study in non-human primates shows no adverse response to intravenous injection of quantum dots

Ling Ye, Ken-Tye Yong, Liwei Liu, Indrajit Roy, Rui Hu, Jing Zhu, Hongxing Cai, Wing-Cheung Law, Jianwei Liu, Kai Wang, Jing Liu, Yaqian Liu, Yazhuo Hu, Xihe Zhang, Mark T. Swihart, and Paras N. Prasad

Nature Nanotechnology (2012) doi:10.1038/nnano.2012.74

The acquisition of an Israeli quantum dot company by Merck is my second bit of quantum dot news, from the May 22, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

Merck announced today that within the scope of a capital increase by the Israeli start-up company QLight Nanotech, it is acquiring an interest in the Jerusalem-based company. QLight Nanotech is a spin-off subsidiary of Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. QLight Nanotech develops products for use in displays and energy-efficient light sources based on semiconductor nanoparticles known as quantum dots.

I understood that Merck was a pharmaceutical company so I was bit surprised to see this (from the May 22, 2012 news item on the Solid State Technology website)

“I am excited that our basic science discoveries on semiconductor nanocrystals are now being realized in innovative technological applications. The partnership with Merck, a world leader in materials for display applications, is a synergistic one allowing us at Qlight Nanotech to implement advanced chemicals manufacturing and applications’ know-how,” said the scientific founder of  QLight Nanotech, Professor Uri Banin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who will continue to support the company as a shareholder and advisor alongside of Yissum.

In fact, Merck bills itself as a pharmaceuticals and a s chemicals company.