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THE EFFECTS OF FUNCTIONALIZED AND NON-FUNCTIONALIZED CARBON NANOTUBES ON ROOT ELONGATION OF SELECTED CROP SPECIES
Citation:
LONG, M., D. M. OLSZYK, E. LEE, R. AMBIKAPATHI, AND J. CANAS. THE EFFECTS OF FUNCTIONALIZED AND NON-FUNCTIONALIZED CARBON NANOTUBES ON ROOT ELONGATION OF SELECTED CROP SPECIES. Presented at SETAC North America 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, November 11 - 15, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
The effects of SWNTs were examined in six crop species routinely used in phytotoxicity testing.
Description:
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have many potential beneficial uses with additional applications constantly being investigated. However, these unique properties create a potential cause for concern of toxicity, not only in humans and animals, but also in plants. Root elongation, a process that takes place during the beginning phases of germination, has been examined to determine if exposure to functionalized and non-functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes inhibits this process. The effects of SWNTs were examined in six crop species routinely used in phytotoxicity testing. Crop seeds were exposed to varying concentrations of functionalized (p-aminobenzensulfonic acid added to provide solubility in water) and non-functionalized SWNTs. Inhibition of root elongation was observed in seeds exposed to functionalized nanotubes at the two highest concentrations tested, but the toxicity may be due to the p-aminobenzensulfonic acid group used to functionalize the nanotubes. Comparisons between functionalized and non-functionalized nanotubes will be discussed.