Phytotoxicological effects of phytosynthesized nanoparticles: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Nanomaterials (NMs) have become one of the most attractive new materials because of their excellent performance and application in the fields of chemistry, agriculture and medicine. However, high prices and potential pollution also limit widespread application of NMs. To prepare cheaper and widely applicable NMs, biological materials, especially plant materials, are being tested for their feasibility as the host of carbon NMs (CNMs) or the carrier of metal NMs (MNMs). This review analyzes the performance and practical applications of current plant-based NMs (PB-NMs) by meta-analysis. The results show that the particle size of PB-NMs is significantly smaller than traditional NMs. Plants improve the production, and hence potential application of NMs, resulting in not only economic advantages but also environmental suitability. At the same time, CNMs below 20 nm have significant protection and promotory effects on plants compared with larger size NMs (above 20 nm) NMs also show contrasting effects on different parts and growth stages of plants. Based on these results, plants can be used as raw materials to produce efficient, environmentally friendly and low toxicity NMs. The applicability of new nanomaterials, including their environmental effects, physicochemical properties and economic advantages, can also be preliminarily confirmed through meta-analysis.