Observation of Uptake and Distribution of Quantum Dots in Plants
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1209-YY07-14
Observation of uptake and distribution of quantum dots in the Mung Bean Annie R. Wang1,2 Hengyi Xu2, John Dixon2, Zoraida P. Aguilar2 1 Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville, Ar 72701 2 .Ocean Nanotech LLC, 2143 Worth Lane, Springdale, AR, 72764 Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Technology in general is advancing at an astronomical rate. Nanotechnology is currently receiving widespread interest in various areas because of its promise to improve products and research procedures by using its nanoscale sizes. The unique small sizes of nanomaterials offer a dramatic increase in surface area to volume ratio. Their optical and electronic properties are a function of the particle size. These nanoparticles are rapidly flooding the market for commercial applications that include, but are not limited to, sunscreen products, cosmetics, light emitting diodes, solid state display, drug delivery, early disease diagnosis, nanoscale reformulations of chemotherapy agents for smaller quantities of drug, nano-enabled contrast agents for in vivo imaging, and new treatments. But, alongside the technological revolutions of the past, there have been severe consequences to this development that people are still grappling with today. These consequences include pollution, species endangerment, and health concerns. Nanoparticles (NPs) may be introduced to organisms via inhalation, intravenous (usually purposefully), ingestion, or absorption through the skin. It is projected that the total production of NPs will reach 58,000 tons per year in 2011-2020 which almost assures the exposure of all ages to NPs at the workplace, ingestion of food and drinking water, wearable consumer products, and potential uptake by inhalation, oral, dermal, or gastric routes. In this proceeding, we observed the plant uptake quantum dots by their emission. This is the first report to study quantum dot distribution in plants. INTRODUCTION The phrase “less is more” is becoming increasingly common in society not only apropos to economic recession, but also to science. With synthesized NPs, or non-naturally occurring compounds that have a length between 1 and 100 nanometers, scientists have found everincreasing ways to utilize them to perform many tasks: among them, potentially using NPs as a medium to detect cancerous cells in their early stages. But, even with its great potential, the possible effects that NPs may have on the environment, particularly its effects on plants, cannot be looked over. The technological and industrial revolutions of the past foreshadow severe consequences that may result from releasing NPs in large quantities at one time. Humans has already seen the negative results of the industrial revolution, such as irreversible pollution of water resources, and from hastily introducing new substances into the environment, such as the DDT craze during the mid-twentieth century, and should make an effort to prevent history from repeating itself and study the effects of NPs on the environment before too much of it is
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