Chemists Use Nanotechnology for Plant Research

19 May 2007

Researchers from Iowa State University have succeeded in using Nanotechnology to insert and simultaneously activate genes delivered into plant cell walls, a discovery that has powerful implications for biotechnology. While the process of delivering genes into plant tissue is not new, it has heretofore involved two stages. First the gene is inserted into plant cell tissue, and then afterwards chemicals are introduced into the plant to trigger the gene’s function. The two-stage process has been imprecise and the presence of chemicals can be harmful to the plant.

The new breakthrough solution uses what are called mesoporous Nanoparticles. These Nanoparticles both introduce the gene and activate it at the same time, in a precise and controlled manner and without toxic after effects. Scientists could potentially use this as an aid in imaging analysis of plants which have been activated with the appropriate materials.

The nanoparticles are chemically coated and act as containers for the genes that are delivered to the plants. The coating induces the plants to swallow the particles, effectively ingesting them inside the plant cell walls where the genes could be inserted. To date the biologists have succeeded in using this technology to introduce DNA to tobacco and corn plants, among others.

With Nanotechnology, researchers are able to impart several substances to the plants all at once and release them in a time-controlled manner. Being able to penetrate the cell wall of the plant enables biologists to view the world of plant biology in all of its complex and intricate detail, opening vast new frontiers of discoveries for agriculture and other industries that rely on biotechnology.

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