Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are increasingly incorporated into agrichemicals to enhance their performance. However, the environmental and food safety implications of ENP ingredients in agrichemicals, in particular, how these ENPs interact with concurrent environmental pollutants in soils and alter the plant uptake and accumulation of coexisting environmental pollutants, has not been broadly examined. Due to the widespread zinc deficiency in agricultural soils around the world, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been explored as a more effective Zn fertilizer than conventional zinc salts. Similarly, copper oxide (CuO) or hydroxide (Cu(OH)<sub>2</sub>) nanoparticles have been commonly incorporated into nano-pesticides in agriculture due to their antimicrobial properties. These nanoparticles have displayed strong reactivity and close interactions with surrounding environmental chemicals and our study investigated the impact of these two ENPs on the accumulation of inorganic arsenic in rice tissues in greenhouse studies. Both ENPs showed strong effects on As accumulation and speciation in rice tissues, leading to lower As accumulation in rice shoots for both ENPs. However, the underlying processes leading to lower As by these two ENPs differ significantly. The effects of ENPs on As speciation and uptake also differed from their respective ionic counterparts, demonstrating some unique “nano-effects” of these ENPs. Detailed mechanisms leading to the altered As speciation and accumulation by both ENPs and their counterpart ions will be discussed in detail.

Investigating the food safety Implications of two broadly applied nano-agrichemicals

2019 Spring National Meeting

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