Conceived plant nanobionic approach, where nanoparticles that can catalyze pollutant metabolism are multiplexed with near-infrared (nIR) fluorescent nanosensors within plant leaves. The resulting nanobionic system can enable real-time monitoring of pollutants as they appear and are subsequently degraded. Images in the figure are adapted from T.T.S. Lew et al., Adv. Mater. (2021) & E. Voke et al., ACS Sensors (2021).
Plant Nanobionics
plant nanobionics can accelerate the development of phytoremediation technologies
There are over 5 million brownfield sites globally that require remediation and redevelopment. While many approaches exist to address this issue, traditional brownfield remediation technologies possess a high carbon footprint and are often hindered by their high cost. Phytoremediation is an inherently carbon negative process that is self-sustaining, cheap, and can address a wide variety of environmental contaminants. However, the current generation of phytoremediators are slow and limited to select growth conditions, leaving this process viable only for low-value lands.
Plant nanobionics is an emerging field that imparts non-native functions to plants by introducing nanoparticles. This approach benefits from its applicability to any wild-type plant without the need of genetic engineering, which is only applicable to a narrow range of plant species.
Plant nanobionic approaches can be used to develop next-generation phytoremediators that (i), remove contaminants quickly and selectively, (ii), store contaminants at high capacities, (iii), metabolize contaminants beyond their natural limits, (iv), possess stimuli responsive features, and (v), can autonomously monitor contaminants as they appear in the environment.