Application of Nanoparticles Alleviates Heavy Metals Stress and Promotes Plant Growth: An Overview

Overview

Journal Nanomaterials (Basel)

Date 2020 Dec 30

PMID 33374410

Citations 39

Authors

Pingfan Zhou

Muhammad Adeel

Noman Shakoor

Manlin Guo

Yi Hao

Imran Azeem

Mingshu Li

Mengyuan Liu

Yukui Rui

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Nanotechnology is playing a significant role in addressing a vast range of environmental challenges by providing innovative and effective solutions. Heavy metal (HM) contamination has gained considerable attention in recent years due their rapidly increasing concentrations in agricultural soil. Due to their unique physiochemical properties, nanoparticles (NPs) can be effectively applied for stress alleviation. In this review, we explore the current status of the literature regarding nano-enabled agriculture retrieved from the Web of Science databases and published from January 2010 to November 2020, with most of our sources spanning the past five years. We briefly discuss uptake and transport mechanisms, application methods (soil, hydroponic and foliar), exposure concentrations, and their impact on plant growth and development. The current literature contained sufficient information about NPs behavior in plants in the presence of pollutants, highlighting the alleviation mechanism to overcome the HM stress. Furthermore, we present a broad overview of recent advances regarding HM stress and the possible mechanism of interaction between NPs and HM in the agricultural system. Additionally, this review article will be supportive for the understanding of phytoremediation and micro-remediation of contaminated soils and also highlights the future research needs for the combined application of NPs in the soil for sustainable agriculture.

Citing Articles

Role of nanobionics to improve the photosynthetic productivity in plants and algae: an emerging approach.

Pandey K, Dasgupta C 3 Biotech. 2025; 15(4):74.

PMID: 40060293 PMC: 11885746. DOI: 10.1007/s13205-025-04244-2.

Nanoparticles: a promising tool against environmental stress in plants.

Zhou X, H El-Sappah A, Khaskhoussi A, Huang Q, M Atif A, A Abd Elhamid M Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1509047.

PMID: 39931338 PMC: 11808028. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1509047.

Nanoparticles as catalysts of agricultural revolution: enhancing crop tolerance to abiotic stress: a review.

Cao Y, Turk K, Bibi N, Ghafoor A, Ahmed N, Azmat M Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1510482.

PMID: 39898270 PMC: 11782286. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1510482.

Optimization of exogenous CeO nanoparticles on Pak choi ( L. var. chinensis) to alleviate arsenic stress.

Tabassam R, Ahmad S, Khan Sehrish A, Ahmad A, Alomrani S, Ghafoor A Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1497926.

PMID: 39898267 PMC: 11782265. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1497926.

Mitigating toxic metals contamination in foods: Bridging knowledge gaps for addressing food safety.

Srivastava R, Singh Y, White J, Dhankher O Trends Food Sci Technol. 2024; 153.

PMID: 39665028 PMC: 11634057. DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104725.

References

Adeel M, Farooq T, White J, Hao Y, He Z, Rui Y . Carbon-based nanomaterials suppress tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection and induce resistance in Nicotiana benthamiana. J Hazard Mater. 2020; 404(Pt A):124167. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124167. View

Cao F, Dai H, Hao P, Wu F . Silicon regulates the expression of vacuolar H-pyrophosphatase 1 and decreases cadmium accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Chemosphere. 2019; 240:124907. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124907. View

Li J, Hu J, Ma C, Wang Y, Wu C, Huang J . Uptake, translocation and physiological effects of magnetic iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles in corn (Zea mays L.). Chemosphere. 2016; 159:326-334. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.05.083. View

Mueller N, Nowack B . Exposure modeling of engineered nanoparticles in the environment. Environ Sci Technol. 2008; 42(12):4447-53. DOI: 10.1021/es7029637. View

Lu Y, Song S, Wang R, Liu Z, Meng J, Sweetman A . Impacts of soil and water pollution on food safety and health risks in China. Environ Int. 2015; 77:5-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.12.010. View

Wang X, Sun W, Zhang S, Sharifan H, Ma X . Elucidating the Effects of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Arsenic Uptake and Speciation in Rice ( Oryza sativa) in a Hydroponic System. Environ Sci Technol. 2018; 52(17):10040-10047. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b01664. View

Mignardi S, Corami A, Ferrini V . Evaluation of the effectiveness of phosphate treatment for the remediation of mine waste soils contaminated with Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Chemosphere. 2011; 86(4):354-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.09.050. View

Singh J, Lee B . Influence of nano-TiO2 particles on the bioaccumulation of Cd in soybean plants (Glycine max): A possible mechanism for the removal of Cd from the contaminated soil. J Environ Manage. 2016; 170:88-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.01.015. View

Briat J, Curie C, Gaymard F . Iron utilization and metabolism in plants. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2007; 10(3):276-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2007.04.003. View

10.

Lowry G, Avellan A, Gilbertson L . Opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology in the agri-tech revolution. Nat Nanotechnol. 2019; 14(6):517-522. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-019-0461-7. View

11.

Moharem M, Elkhatib E, Mesalem M . Remediation of chromium and mercury polluted calcareous soils using nanoparticles: Sorption -desorption kinetics, speciation and fractionation. Environ Res. 2019; 170:366-373. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.054. View

12.

Rizwan M, Ali S, Ur Rehman M, Adrees M, Arshad M, Qayyum M . Alleviation of cadmium accumulation in maize (Zea mays L.) by foliar spray of zinc oxide nanoparticles and biochar to contaminated soil. Environ Pollut. 2019; 248:358-367. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.02.031. View

13.

Liu Y, Wu T, White J, Lin D . A new strategy using nanoscale zero-valent iron to simultaneously promote remediation and safe crop production in contaminated soil. Nat Nanotechnol. 2020; 16(2):197-205. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-00803-1. View

14.

Ali S, Rizwan M, Noureen S, Anwar S, Ali B, Naveed M . Combined use of biochar and zinc oxide nanoparticle foliar spray improved the plant growth and decreased the cadmium accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) plant. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019; 26(11):11288-11299. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04554-y. View

15.

Khan Z, Rizwan M, Hafeez M, Ali S, Javed M, Adrees M . The accumulation of cadmium in wheat (Triticum aestivum) as influenced by zinc oxide nanoparticles and soil moisture conditions. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019; 26(19):19859-19870. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05333-5. View

16.

Wang Y, Liu Y, Zhan W, Zheng K, Lian M, Zhang C . Long-term stabilization of Cd in agricultural soil using mercapto-functionalized nano-silica (MPTS/nano-silica): A three-year field study. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020; 197:110600. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110600. View

17.

Emamverdian A, Ding Y, Xie Y, Sangari S . Silicon Mechanisms to Ameliorate Heavy Metal Stress in Plants. Biomed Res Int. 2018; 2018:8492898. PMC: 5937581. DOI: 10.1155/2018/8492898. View

18.

Teng Y, Wu J, Lu S, Wang Y, Jiao X, Song L . Soil and soil environmental quality monitoring in China: a review. Environ Int. 2014; 69:177-99. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2014.04.014. View

19.

Hussain A, Ali S, Rizwan M, Ur Rehman M, Javed M, Imran M . Zinc oxide nanoparticles alter the wheat physiological response and reduce the cadmium uptake by plants. Environ Pollut. 2018; 242(Pt B):1518-1526. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.08.036. View

20.

Rossi L, Zhang W, Schwab A, Ma X . Uptake, Accumulation, and in Planta Distribution of Coexisting Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Cadmium in Glycine max (L.) Merr. . Environ Sci Technol. 2017; 51(21):12815-12824. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b03363. View