Comparison of the Impact of Different Types of nZVI on Lolium westerwoldicum

Lidia Mielcarz-Skalska,Beata Smolińska,Małgorzata Szynkowska-Jóźwik

doi:10.3390/agronomy11030467

Abstract

Increasing environmental pollution causes the search for new methods of purification. Currently, the remediation potential of nanoparticles is increasingly being studied. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of data on the impact of these compounds on living organisms, including plants. This study was designed to test the effects of nanoFER 25 and nanoFER 25S iron on Lolium westerwoldicum Breakw. After cultivation of plants in a soil contaminated with nanoparticles, the biometric parameters, content of polyphenols, flavonoids, chlorophyll changes, carotenoids, anthocyanins, superoxide dismutase, catalase and pyrogallol peroxidase were studied. The conducted experiment showed that nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) is slightly taken from the soil to the plants. The iron passes to the root but there is no further transport up the plant. The content of polyphenols and flavonoids in aboveground parts of plants decreases with a simultaneous increase in roots compared to the control sample. The chlorophyll content in the leaves is strongly related to the concentration of the contaminant. Similarly, the enzyme activity of the antioxidant system in the whole plant is strongly related to the concentration of the pollutant. The amount of vegetable pigments in the leaves increases for low concentrations of contamination and then decreases at higher levels of contamination. The study has shown that both types of nanoFER are not indifferent to the plants’ growth.

Highlights

One of the biggest problems of modern science is environmental pollution
L. westerwoldicum was cultivated in the soil, whose characteristics are presented in Table 1. nano zero-valent iron (nZVI), in the forms of 25 nanoFER and 25S nanoFER which were used in the study, was purchased from Nano Iron (Rajhrad, Czech Republic)
The conducted experiment showed that nZVI is slightly taken from the soil

Summary

Introduction

One of the biggest problems of modern science is environmental pollution. The increasing number of landfills, production plants, oil fields, mines and industrial plants causes more pollution enter the ecosystem. One of the biggest threats is the insertion of harmful compounds into the soil and further into aquifers [1,2]. A relatively new solution is the use of nanoremediation. This method involves the use of very small particles, at the nanoscale, that allow detection, prevention and monitoring of pollution. The direct application of nanoremediation, understood as insertion of nanomaterials into the contaminated environment, is not always fully studied [1,3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion