The sustainable and responsible development of nanotechnology requires an integrated and proactive strategy to recognize and assess possible material risks to workers, consumers and the environment. Such data can be used to both minimize unintended consequence of engineered nanomaterial (ENP) exposures as well as to accelerate innovation by enabling safe nanomaterial design, use and disposal practices. This strategy requires that research into nanotechnology risk(s) be as broad and far-reaching as the possible applications of nanotechnology itself. Rapid developments in research and industrial production of advanced materials at the nanoscale have increased the potential for such technologies to impact the environment. To appropriately address this broad issue, it is critical to understand the impact and role of plant and nanomaterial interactions. Plants are critical species in the ecosystem, and the history of environmental science makes apparent the diverse ways in which they can influence environmental impact. When plants are affected by foreign substances, corresponding consequences to ecosystem health are wide ranging. Furthermore, plants can concentrate, passivate and even degrade contaminants through specific and nonspecific biochemical processes.
Researchers will study the interactions between engineered nanoscale materials (ENM) and plants. Such data is critical for accurate life cycle(s) and ecosystem risk(s) assessments, both of which are the foundation for sustainable nanotechnology. A hypothesis to be tested in this work is that under certain circumstances plants are capable of nanomaterial uptake. Defining the combination of nanoparticle characteristics (composition, size and surface chemistries) including potential plant protein/polysaccharide coatings (from root exudates and turnover or within plant tissue) that facilitate uptake and assimilation is a major goal of this award. Of particular interest is quantitative characterization of the accumulation process and, furthermore, if edible portions of the plant are involved which could lead to transfer of potentially harmful materials up the throughout the food web. Interwoven into plant uptake and assimilation studies, additional experiments are designed to probe known plant biochemical(biotransformation) processes/pathways that may affect engineered (often organic) ENM coatings and ENM directly including nanomaterial phytotoxicity and evaluate material impacts on plant gross development and health.
The work will result in important information for both nanotechnology policymakers and industry alike. The relevance derives from three specific features: first, the research will fill the glaring data gap in plant-ENP interactions and will evaluate species differences; second, the breadth of the materials to be considered is broad enough to encompass a wide variety of existing and future engineered nanomaterials; and finally, the central role that plants play in any description of environmental impact of contaminants. Results will enable nanotechnology risk management strategies that ensure eco-responsible use and disposal.
