Interaction of carbon nanohorns with plants: Uptake and biological effects

Single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) are a unique carbon-based nanomaterial with promising application in different fields including, medicine, genetic engineering and horticulture. Here, we investigated the biological response of six crop species (barley, corn, rice, soybean, switchgrass, tomato) and tobacco cell culture to the exposure of SWCNHs. We found that SWCNHs can activate seed germination of selected crops and enhance growth of different organs of corn, tomato, rice and soybean. At cellular level, growth of tobacco cells was increased in response to exposure of SWCNHs (78% increase compared to control). Uptake of SWCNHs by exposed crops and tobacco cells was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quantified by microwave induced heating (MIH) technique. At genetic level, SWCNHs were able to affect expression of a number of tomato genes that are involved in stress responses, cellular responses and metabolic processes. We have concluded that SWCNHs can be used as plant growth regulators and have the potential for plant-related applications.