Effect of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on germination of seeds and concentration of elements in Helianthus annuus L. under constant magnetic field

Krzysztof Kornarzyński,Dariusz Wiącek,Agnieszka Sujak,Grzegorz Czernel

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64849-w

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe-NPs) on the germination of sunflower seeds, early growth of seedlings and the concentration of selected elements in seedlings. The influence of constant magnetic fields in systems with and without Fe-NPs was investigated. Experiments were done on seeds subjected to germination under constant magnetic field (0 (control), 5, 25 and 120 mT) for 7 days in the presence of solution containing 0, 50 or 500 ppm Fe-NPs. No significant effect of Fe-NPs and the magnetic field on germination of seeds and the growth of seedlings has been demonstrated. In most cases, a decrease in germination parameters was observed. For the majority of samples the relative decrease in the concentrations of elements was demonstrated mainly for samples without Fe-NPs. Interestingly, a significant decrease in the concentrations of trivalent (including iron - Fe) and toxic elements in samples containing Fe-NPs in relation to control samples was observed. The authors suggest that in this case the binding (adsorption) of these elements in the roots and seeds of the sunflower by Fe-NPs took place. This explains the lower iron content in seedlings than in seeds prior to sowing.

Highlights

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become a very attractive research object due to their unique physicochemical properties
For samples P-5-0, P-25-0 and P-120-0, the effect of the magnetic field was determined against K-0-0 sample and for samples K-0-500 and K-0-50 the effect of nanoparticles was estimated with relation to K-0-0 control sample
Especially trivalent ones, the largest decrease in concentration occurred for samples subjected to combined magnetic field and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe-NPs) and exclusively for Fe-NPs

Summary

Introduction

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become a very attractive research object due to their unique physicochemical properties. The effect of toxicity was studied and observed for aluminum oxide (Al2O3), silicon dioxide (SiO2), magnetite (Fe3O4) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on Arabidopsis thaliana[16] showing the highest phytotoxicity for ZnO-NPs. The influence of NPs (multilayer carbon nanotubes, aluminum, alumina, zinc and zinc oxide) on seed germination and plant roots growth (radish, rapeseed, ryegrass, lettuce, corn and cucumber) was investigated[17]. No NPs effect on germination of seeds was noted, nano-Zn and nano-ZnO suspensions caused elongation of the roots of the studied plant species. Fe-NPs positively influenced the germination and growth of wheat seedlings during exposure to drought and excessive salt - an increase in the weight and length of seedlings, shoots and roots was observed[20]

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