With the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, feeding humanity will require a 60% increase in food production. The prevalence of numerous plant diseases contributes to the grand challenge of attaining global food security. It is clear that  there is a need to invest in creative, sustainable, and economically feasible solutions to improve agricultural crop production. Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly being used as alternatives to commercial agrochemicals due to their unique nanoscale properties that allow for enhanced delivery of nutrients to promote plant growth. Silica nanoparticles have shown promise in improving stress- and disease-resistance in plants, thereby improving yield and agricultural productivity. These benefits are due to the dissolution of silica nanoparticles to form silicic acid, which has been shown to fortify plant cell walls and enable plants to fight off disease. This study investigates the dissolution of silica NPs using different functionalization strategies enabled by inclusion of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). Four types of silica NPs that vary based on the presence and location of APTES were prepared and characterized using transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen physisorption (for physical characterization) and the silicomolybdic acid (SMA) assay (for dissolution characterization). This study shows that when APTES is located in the silica NP core, the NPs dissolve to generate hollow structures within 8 hours of incubation, introducing a burst of silicic acid release into the surrounding environment. However, silica NPs with APTES on the surface do not exhibit the same transformation. Thus, understanding the role of localization of APTES on NP transformation will facilitate future design of optimal NPs for agricultural applications.

Varied dissolution silica nanoparticles for nano-enabled disease suppression in plants

ACS Fall 2021

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