Copper
Nanoparticle (CuNP) Nanochain Arrays with a
Reduced Toxicity Response: A Biophysical and Biochemical Outlook on Vigna radiata
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Abstract
Copper
deficiency or toxicity in agricultural soil circumscribes
a plant’s growth and physiology, hampering photochemical and
biochemical networks within the system. So far, copper sulfate (CS)
has been used widely despite its toxic effect. To get around this
long-standing problem, copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) have been synthesized,
characterized, and tested on mung bean plants along with commercially
available salt CS, to observe morphological abnormalities enforced
if any. CuNPs enhanced photosynthetic activity by modulating fluorescence
emission, photophosphorylation, electron transport chain (ETC), and
carbon assimilatory pathway under controlled laboratory conditions,
as revealed from biochemical and biophysical studies on treated isolated
mung bean chloroplast. CuNPs at the recommended dose worked better
than CS in plants in terms of basic morphology, pigment contents,
and antioxidative activities. CuNPs showed elevated nitrogen assimilation
compared to CS. At higher doses CS was found to be toxic to the plant
system, whereas CuNP did not impart any toxicity to the system including
morphological and/or physiological alterations. This newly synthesized
polymer-encapsulated CuNPs can be utilized as nutritional amendment
to balance the nutritional disparity enforced by copper imbalance