Publications
Table of Contents (TOC)
Graphene Oxide Upconversion Nanoparticle Based Portable Sensors for Assessing Nutritional Deficiencies in Crops
ACS Nano 2018, 12(6), 6273–6279
Abstract
The development of innovative technologies to rapidly detect biomarkers associated with nutritional deficiencies in crops is highly relevant to agriculture and could impact the future of food security. Zinc (Zn) is an important micronutrient in plants, and deficiency leads to poor health, quality, and yield of crops. We have developed portable sensors based on graphene oxide and upconversion nanoparticles, which can be used for early detection of Zn deficiency by sensing mRNAs encoding members of the ZIP-transporter family. ZIP proteins are membrane transporters upregulated at early stages of Zn deficiency, part of the biological mechanism crops use to respond to nutritional deficiency. The sensors operate based on optical output intensity changes caused by interaction between oligonucleotide-coated upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide in the presence or absence of specific oligonucleotide targets. These sensors reliably detect mRNAs in RNA extracts from plants using a smartphone camera. Our work presents accurate and highly sensitive sensors for field use to determine crop nutrient status and facilitate economically important nutrient management decisions.
For citation:
Giust, D.; Lucio, M. I.; El-Sagheer, A. H.; Brown, T.; Williams, L. E.; Muskens, O. L.; Kanaras, A. G.
"Graphene Oxide Upconversion Nanoparticle Based Portable Sensors for Assessing Nutritional Deficiencies in Crops"
ACS Nano 2018, 12(6), 6273–6279. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b03261