A May 17, 2025 Nanowerk Spotlight article by Raja muthuramalingam thangavelu of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), highlights research into methods for adapting plants to a changing climate, Note 1: I have found multiple spellings for the author’s name including this version on the research paper (Raja muthuramalingam Thangavelu); Note 2: Links have been removed,
Researchers at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) are at the forefront of sustainable agriculture, leveraging nanotechnology to address the growing challenges of climate change. One of their studies introduced a novel multielement (Zn–Mg–Mn–Fe) nanocomposite that significantly enhances UV stress tolerance and nutrient accumulation in lettuce. This innovative approach addresses a critical challenge in agriculture, where UV radiation can reduce crop yields by up to 50% in extreme conditions.
By integrating key micronutrients with UV-absorbing nanoparticles, this nanocomposite not only protects plants from harmful UV radiation but also optimizes nutrient uptake, potentially transforming agricultural practices for better crop resilience, higher productivity, and improved food security. This dual-function nanosunscreen has the potential to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, lower the carbon footprint of farming, and improve the sustainability of agricultural systems.
Graphical Abstract. (Image: Generated using BioRender.com, courtesy of the authors) [downloaded from https://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=66828.php]
Introduction
As climate change intensifies, agricultural crops are increasingly exposed to environmental stressors like ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can severely impact plant growth, reduce photosynthetic efficiency, and lower crop yields. This is particularly critical in regions like Australia, southern Europe, and parts of the United States, where intense UV radiation is a constant challenge for farmers.
In countries like Spain and Italy, known for their high-value tomato and grape industries, UV stress can significantly impact crop quality and yield. Similarly, California’s Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, faces increasing UV exposure due to changing climate patterns. In response to this challenge, our research team developed a multifunctional nanocomposite containing zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe), designed to protect plants from UV-induced damage while enhancing nutrient accumulation.
Nanosunscreen Technology for Plants
The nanocomposite leverages the unique properties of Zn, Mg, Mn, and Fe to create a highly effective UV shield. Zinc acts as a core UV blocker, while magnesium supports chlorophyll function, manganese aids in photosynthetic oxygen evolution, and iron facilitates electron transport. These elements are incorporated into a nanoscale matrix, allowing for controlled nutrient release and improved foliar adhesion. This design not only reduces the harmful effects of UV radiation but also promotes sustainable nutrient delivery, enhancing plant growth and stress tolerance.
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Key Findings
Our experiments showed that lettuce treated with this nanocomposite exhibited up to 66.7% higher chlorophyll content, 45% greater leaf area, and 43.68% more dry biomass compared to untreated controls. Additionally, UV-induced oxidative damage was reduced by over 70%, highlighting the potential of this technology to improve crop resilience in challenging environments.
The composite also demonstrated superior nutrient uptake, with plants absorbing up to 220 mg/kg of magnesium within 4 days, along with significant long-term increases in Mn, Fe, and Zn uptake. These findings underscore the potential of nanoscale agriculture to address the dual challenges of nutrient deficiency and environmental stress, offering a promising path toward more resilient crop systems.
Real-World Applications and Future Perspectives
The potential applications of this nanosunscreen technology extend beyond lettuce, potentially benefiting a wide range of high-value crops that are sensitive to UV stress, including tomatoes, grapes, and leafy greens. This approach could play a critical role in improving food security and sustainability as global climate conditions continue to change. Additionally, integrating this nanocomposite into smart agriculture systems could enable precision nutrient delivery, reduce chemical fertilizer use, and minimize the environmental footprint of modern farming.
Looking ahead, the authors plan to extend this research by integrating cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) into the nanocomposite matrix. This approach aims to enhance the mechanical strength, UV shielding, and biocompatibility of the formulation, creating a more versatile nanosunscreen suitable for a broader range of crops. CNCs, known for their high tensile strength and natural origin, could significantly improve the long-term stability and UV absorption efficiency of these composites, making them an even more effective tool for climate-resilient agriculture.
A July 23, 2024 news item on Nanowerk provides an introduction to nanoparticles and their potential use in agriculture, Note: Links have been removed,
Nanoparticles could potentially help address agricultural and environmental sustainability issues on a global scale.
Those issues include rising food demand, increasing greenhouse gas emissions generated by agricultural activities, climbing costs of agrochemicals, reducing crop yields induced by climate change, and degrading soil quality. A class of nanoscale particles called “nanocarriers” could make crop agriculture more sustainable and resilient to climate change, according to a group of specialists that includes Kurt Ristroph, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University.
“Saying ‘nanoparticle’ means different things to different people,” Ristroph said. In nanodrug delivery, a nanoparticle usually ranges in size from 60 to 100 nanometers and is made of lipids or polymers. “In the environmental world, a nanoparticle usually means a 3- to 5-nanometer metal oxide colloid. Those are not the same thing, but people use ‘nanoparticle’ for both.”
Ristroph helped organize a 2022 interdisciplinary workshop on nanomethods for drug delivery in plants. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the workshop was attended by 30 participants from academia, industry and government laboratories.
Many of the workshop participants, including Ristroph, have now published their conclusions in Nature Nanotechnology (“Towards realizing nano-enabled precision delivery in plants”). Their article reviews the possibility nanocarriers could make crop agriculture more sustainable and resilient to climate change.
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A July 23, 2024 Purdue University news release (also on EurekAlert but published July 19, 2024) by Steve Koppes, which originated the news item, delves further into the topic of how agriculture could be made more sustainable with nanotechnology-enabled delivery methods, Note: Links have been removed,
“Nano-enabled precision delivery of active agents in plants will transform agriculture, but there are critical technical challenges that we must first overcome to realize the full range of its benefits,” said the article’s co-lead author Greg Lowry, the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. “I’m optimistic about the future of plant nanobiotechnology approaches and the beneficial impacts it will have on our ability to sustainably produce food.”
Plant cells and human cells have major physiological differences. Plant cells have a cell wall while human cells don’t, for example. But certain tools can be transferred from nanomedicine to plant applications.
“People have developed tools for studying the bio-corona formation around nanoparticles in an animal. We could think about bringing some of those tools to bear on nanoparticles in plants,” Ristroph said.
When nanoparticles are injected into the bloodstream, many components of the blood stick onto the surface of the nanoparticles. The various proteins sticking to a nanoparticle’s surface make it look different.
The task then becomes figuring out what proteins or other molecules will stick to the surface and where the particle will go as a result. A nanoparticle designed to move toward a certain organ may have its destination altered by white blood cells that detect the particle’s surface proteins and send it to a different organ.
“Broadly speaking, that’s the idea of bio-corona formation and trafficking,” Ristroph said. “People in drug delivery nanomedicine have been thinking about and developing tools for studying that kind of thing. Some of those thoughts and some of those tools could be applied to plants.”
Researchers already have developed many different architectures and chemistries for making nanoscale delivery vehicles for nanomedicine. “Some of the particle types are transferable,” he said. “You can take a nanoparticle that was optimized for movement in humans and put it in a plant, and you’ll probably find that it needs to be redesigned at least somewhat.”
Ristroph focuses on organic (carbon-based) nanocarriers that have a core-shell structure. The core contains a payload, while the shell forms a protective outer layer. Researchers have used many different types of nanomaterial in plants. The most popular materials are metallic nanoparticles because they are somewhat easier to make, handle and track where they go in a plant than organic nanoparticles.
“One of the first questions that you want to figure out is where these nanoparticles go in a plant,” Ristroph said. “It’s a lot easier to detect a metal inside of a plant that’s made of carbon than it is to detect a carbon-based nanoparticle in a plant that’s made of carbon.”
Last March, Ristroph and Purdue PhD student Luiza Stolte Bezerra Lisboa Oliveira published a critical review of the research literature on the Uptake and Translocation of Organic Nanodelivery Vehicles in Plants in Environmental Science and Technology.
“Not a lot is understood about transformations after these things go into a plant, how they’re getting metabolized,” Ristroph said. His team is interested in studying that, along with ways to help ensure that the nanoparticles are delivered to their proper destinations, and in corona formation. Coronas are biomolecular coatings that affect nanoparticle functions.
The manufacturability of nanocarriers is another interest area that could be transferred to agriculture from nanomedicine.
“I care a lot about manufacturability and making sure that whatever techniques we’re using to make the nanoparticles are scalable and economically feasible,” Ristroph said.
The manufacturability of nanocarriers is another interest area that could be transferred to agriculture from nanomedicine.
“I care a lot about manufacturability and making sure that whatever techniques we’re using to make the nanoparticles are scalable and economically feasible,” Ristroph said.
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Towards realizing nano-enabled precision delivery in plants by Gregory V. Lowry, Juan Pablo Giraldo, Nicole F. Steinmetz, Astrid Avellan, Gozde S. Demirer, Kurt D. Ristroph, Gerald J. Wang, Christine O. Hendren, Christopher A. Alabi, Adam Caparco, Washington da Silva, Ivonne González-Gamboa, Khara D. Grieger, Su-Ji Jeon, Mariya V. Khodakovskaya, Hagay Kohay, Vivek Kumar, Raja Muthuramalingam, Hanna Poffenbarger, Swadeshmukul Santra, Robert D. Tilton & Jason C. White. Nature Nanotechnology (2024) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-024-01667-5 Published: 06 June 2024
