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. 2024 May 22;10(11):e31708.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31708. eCollection 2024 Jun 15.

Development, characterization, and evaluation of Zn-SA-chitosan bionanoconjugates on wheat seed, experiencing chilling stress during germination

Narender Mohan  1 , Ajay Pal  1 , Vinod Saharan  2 , Anuj Kumar  3 , Rahul Vashishth  4 , Sabina Evan Prince  5
Affiliations

Development, characterization, and evaluation of Zn-SA-chitosan bionanoconjugates on wheat seed, experiencing chilling stress during germination

Narender Mohan et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and characterize the chitosan bionanoconjugates (BNCs) loaded with zinc (Zn) and salicylic acid (SA) and test their efficacy on wheat seed exposed to chilling stress. BNCs developed were spherical (480 ± 6.0 nm), porous, and positively charged (+25.2 ± 2.4 mV) with regulated nutrient release properties. They possessed complexation efficiency of 78.4 and 58.9 % for Zn, and SA respectively. BET analysis further confirmed a surface area of 12.04 m2/g. Release kinetics substantiated the release rates of Zn and SA, as 0.579 and 0.559 % per hour, along with a half-life of 119.7 and 124.0 h, respectively. BNCs positively affected the germination potential of wheat seeds under chilling stress as observed by significantly (p < 0.05) reduced mean emergence time (18 %), and increased germination rate (22 %), compared to the control. Higher activities of reserve mobilizing enzymes (α-amylase- 6.5 folds, protease -10.2 folds) as well as faster reserve mobilization of starch (64.4 %) and protein (63.5 %) molecules were also observed. The application further led to increased levels of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) and reduced oxidative damage (MDA and H2O2). Thus, it is inferred that the developed BNCs could help substantially improve the germination and reserve mobilization potential, thereby increasing the crop yield.

Keywords: Bionanoconjugate; Chilling stress; Nanopriming; Release kinetics; Seed reserve mobilization; Vigour index.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Priming experiments in the laboratory under controlled conditions showing growth in primed seeds (T1-control, T2-bulk chitosan, T3-bulk Zn, T4-bulk SA, T5- Mix bulk (chitosan, Zn and SA), T6-0.1 %, T7-0.2 %, T8-0.4 %, T9-0.8 %, T10–1.2 %, T11–1.6 % BNCs.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Particle size distribution based on intensity (A) and volume % (B) of bulk chitosan and their correlogram (C) and cumulants fit (D) based on correlation coefficient vs time.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Particle size distribution based on intensity (A) and volume % (B) of synthesized BNCs and their correlogram (C) and cumulants fit (D) based on correlation coefficient vs time.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
SEM (A) micrographs at 30kx showing porous surfaced Zn-SA chitosan BNCs and TEM (B) micrograph entails spherical shaped aggregated (at 200kx) and dispersed NPs in the inset.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
EDS analysis of Zn-SA chitosan BNCs (A) mapping of elements and (B) elemental composition.
Fig:6
Fig:6
Comparative FTIR results of bulk chitosan and Zn-SA-chitosan BNCs.
Fig: 7
Fig: 7
Speculative morphology of Zn-SA-chitosan BNCsS: Blending bulk Zn, SA, chitosan and TPP forming a nanostructure possessing backbone of chitosan cross-linked by TPP encapsulating Zn and SA.
Fig: 8
Fig: 8
- Release and retention profile of Zn (A) and SA (B) at varying pH (1–7).
Fig:9
Fig:9
Release profile of Zn (A) and SA (B) at various incubation times.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Release kinetics of Zn (A) and SA (B).
Fig: 11
Fig: 11
Effect of nanopriming on seed reserve mobilizing enzyme α-Amylase (A) and protease (B), starch content (C), and soluble protein (D).
Fig: 12
Fig: 12
Effect of nanopriming on chlorophyll A and B and total chlorophyll (A) and carotenoid content (B) in wheat.
Fig: 13
Fig: 13
- Effect of nanopriming on stress indicators H2O2 (A) and MDA (B) and antioxidant enzymes SOD (C) and CAT (D) content in wheat seedlings at 15 DAG.
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