Review

. 2024 Sep;19(9):1255-1269.

doi: 10.1038/s41565-024-01667-5. Epub 2024 Jun 6.

Towards realizing nano-enabled precision delivery in plants

Gregory V Lowry¹, Juan Pablo Giraldo², Nicole F Steinmetz^{3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10}, Astrid Avellan¹¹, Gozde S Demirer¹², Kurt D Ristroph¹³, Gerald J Wang¹⁴, Christine O Hendren¹⁵, Christopher A Alabi¹⁶, Adam Caparco³, Washington da Silva¹⁷, Ivonne González-Gamboa¹⁸, Khara D Grieger¹⁹, Su-Ji Jeon²⁰, Mariya V Khodakovskaya²¹, Hagay Kohay¹⁴, Vivek Kumar¹⁴, Raja Muthuramalingam¹⁷, Hanna Poffenbarger²², Swadeshmukul Santra²³, Robert D Tilton²⁴, Jason C White¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. glowry@andrew.cmu.edu.
² Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA. juanpablo.giraldo@ucr.edu.
³ Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁶ Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁷ Shu and K.C. Chien and Peter Farrell Collaboratory, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁸ Center for Engineering in Cancer, Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁹ Moores Cancer Center, University of California, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Materials Discovery and Design, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹¹ UMR 5563 CNRS, Toulouse, Occitanie, France.
¹² Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
¹³ Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
¹⁴ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁵ Geological and Environmental Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
¹⁶ Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
¹⁷ The Connecticut Agricultural Research Station, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁹ Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
²⁰ Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
²¹ Applied Science, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AK, USA.
²² Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
²³ Department of Chemistry and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
²⁴ Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

PMID: 38844663
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-024-01667-5

Review

Towards realizing nano-enabled precision delivery in plants

Gregory V Lowry et al. Nat Nanotechnol. 2024 Sep.

. 2024 Sep;19(9):1255-1269.

doi: 10.1038/s41565-024-01667-5. Epub 2024 Jun 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. glowry@andrew.cmu.edu.
² Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA. juanpablo.giraldo@ucr.edu.
³ Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁶ Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁷ Shu and K.C. Chien and Peter Farrell Collaboratory, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁸ Center for Engineering in Cancer, Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁹ Moores Cancer Center, University of California, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Materials Discovery and Design, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹¹ UMR 5563 CNRS, Toulouse, Occitanie, France.
¹² Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
¹³ Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
¹⁴ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁵ Geological and Environmental Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
¹⁶ Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
¹⁷ The Connecticut Agricultural Research Station, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Molecular Biology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁹ Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
²⁰ Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
²¹ Applied Science, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AK, USA.
²² Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
²³ Department of Chemistry and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
²⁴ Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

PMID: 38844663
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-024-01667-5

Abstract

Nanocarriers (NCs) that can precisely deliver active agents, nutrients and genetic materials into plants will make crop agriculture more resilient to climate change and sustainable. As a research field, nano-agriculture is still developing, with significant scientific and societal barriers to overcome. In this Review, we argue that lessons can be learned from mammalian nanomedicine. In particular, it may be possible to enhance efficiency and efficacy by improving our understanding of how NC properties affect their interactions with plant surfaces and biomolecules, and their ability to carry and deliver cargo to specific locations. New tools are required to rapidly assess NC-plant interactions and to explore and verify the range of viable targeting approaches in plants. Elucidating these interactions can lead to the creation of computer-generated in silico models (digital twins) to predict the impact of different NC and plant properties, biological responses, and environmental conditions on the efficiency and efficacy of nanotechnology approaches. Finally, we highlight the need for nano-agriculture researchers and social scientists to converge in order to develop sustainable, safe and socially acceptable NCs.

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Towards realizing nano-enabled precision delivery in plants

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