A new process has been developed for spontaneously incorporating and assembling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and oxygen scavenging nanoparticles into chloroplasts, the part of plant cells that conduct photosynthesis – converting light into energy. Incorporation of CNTs enhanced electron flow associated with photosynthesis by 49% in extracted chloroplasts and by 30% in leaves of living plants, and incorporation of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) into extracted chloroplasts significantly reduced concentrations of superoxide, a compound that is toxic to plants.
Chloroplasts alone absorb light only from the visible portion of the solar spectrum, allowing access to only about 50% of the incident solar energy radiation, and less than 10% of full sunlight saturates the capacity of the photosynthetic apparatus. This nano-bio approach is believed to increase the breadth of the solar spectrum that is used to make energy and is expected to contribute to the development of biomimetic materials with enhanced photosynthetic activity and improved stability towards oxidative degradation.
A novel nanobionic approach has been developed that imparts higher photosynthetic activity to plant leaves and extracted plant chloroplasts, the biological organelles that convert captured carbon dioxide into solar energy. While chloroplasts host all of the biochemical machinery needed for photosynthesis, little is known about how to engineer chloroplasts extracted from plants for long-term, stable solar energy harnessing. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that highly charged single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated with DNA and chitosan (a biomolecule derived from shrimp and other crustacean shells) are able to spontaneously penetrate into chloroplasts.
This nanobionics approach is expected to contribute to the development of biomimetic materials for light-harvesting and solar energy conversion, as well as biochemical detection with regenerative properties and enhanced efficiency.
