Nanomaterials

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research advances have shown that engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) may have beneficial effects in plants. The reports mention that at certain concentrations, ENMs—especially microelement nanoparticles—reduce lipid peroxidation, increase pigments, and act as fertilizers or pesticides. Additionally, the data indicate beneficial changes in metabolomics and metallomics. However, the boundary between beneficial and detrimental concentrations is still not well defined.

This Special Issue of Nanomaterials attempts to cover reports of studies focused on the discovery of relevant concentrations of ENMs that are able to improve food production. This collection of papers may lay the foundation for more literature that seeks to enable the increase of food security and, at the same time, reduce environmental impacts derived from the extensive use of conventional fertilizers and pesticides.

Prof. José Peralta-Videa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nanofertilizers
nanopesticides
crop plants
metabolomics
metallomics

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 1765 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Macroscopic Observation of Soil Nitrification Kinetics Impacted by Copper Nanoparticles: Implications for Micronutrient Nanofertilizer

by Allison Rick VandeVoort and Yuji Arai

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(11), 927; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8110927 - 08 Nov 2018

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3792

Abstract

The potential agricultural use of metal nanoparticles (NPs) for slow-release micronutrient fertilizers is beginning to be investigated by both industry and regulatory agencies. However, the impact of such NPs on soil biogeochemical cycles is not clearly understood. In this study, the impact of commercially-available copper NPs on soil nitrification kinetics was investigated via batch experiments. The X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy analysis showed that the NPs readily oxidized to Cu(II) and were strongly retained in soils with minimum dissolution (<1% of total mass). The Cu²⁺ (aq) at 1 mg/L showed a beneficial effect on the nitrification similar to the control: an approximately 9% increase in the average rate of nitrification kinetics (V_max). However V_max was negatively impacted by ionic Cu at 10 to 100 mg/L and CuNP at 1 to 100 mg/L. The copper toxicity of soil nitrifiers seems to be critical in the soil nitrification processes. In the CuNP treatment, the suppressed nitrification kinetics was observed at 1 to 100 mg/kg and the effect was concentration dependent at ≥10 mg/L. The reaction products as the results of surface oxidation such as the release of ionic Cu seem to play an important role in suppressing the nitrification process. Considering the potential use of copper NPs as a slow-release micronutrient fertilizer, further studies are needed in heterogeneous soil systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineered Nanomaterials and Agriculture: Moving towards Their Contribution into Food Security)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 755 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanomaterials as Alternative Control Means Against Postharvest Diseases in Fruit Crops

by Sergio Ruffo Roberto, Khamis Youssef, Ayat Farghily Hashim and Antonio Ippolito

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(12), 1752; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9121752 - 10 Dec 2019

Cited by 74 | Viewed by 9094

Abstract

Post-harvest diseases of fruit and vegetables have to be controlled because of the high added value of commodities and the great economic loss related to spoilage. Synthetic fungicides are the first choice worldwide to control post-harvest diseases of fruit and vegetables. However, several problems and constraints related to their use have forced scientists to develop alternatives control means to prevent post-harvest diseases. Physical and biological means, resistance inducers, and GRAS (generally recognized as safe) compounds are the most important alternatives used during the last 20 years. Recently, nanomaterial treatments have demonstrated promising results and they are being investigated to reduce the utilization of synthetic fungicides to control post-harvest rot in fruit and vegetables. The collective information in this review article covers a wide range of nanomaterials used to control post-harvest decays related to each selected fruit crop including grape, citrus, banana, apple, mango, peach, and nectarine. Other examples also used are apricot, guava, avocado, papaya, dragon, pear, longan, loquat, jujubes, and pomegranate fruits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineered Nanomaterials and Agriculture: Moving towards Their Contribution into Food Security)

► Show Figures