Herein, we report bioderived cross-linkers to create biopolymer-based hydrogels with tunable properties. Nucleosides (inosine and uridine) and ribose (pentose sugar lucking the nitrogenous base) were partially oxidized to yield inosine dialdehyde (IdA), uridine dialdehyde (UdA), and ribose dialdehyde (RdA). The dialdehydes were further used as crosslinkers with polysaccharide chitosan to form hydrogels. Depending on the cross-linker type and concentration, the hydrogels showed tunable rheological, mechanical, and liquid holding properties allowing the preparation of injectable, soft, and moldable hydrogels. Computational modeling and molecular dynamics simulations shed light on hydrogel formation and revealed that, in addition to covalent bonding, noncovalent interactions (π−π stacking, cation−π, and H-bonding) also significantly contributed to the cross-linking process. To demonstrate various application possibilities, the prepared hydrogels were used as a growth platform for plant cells, as injectable inks for layer-by-layer 3D printing applications, and as moldable hydrogels for soft lithography to replicate the microstructure of the plant. These findings suggest that the obtained tunable biocompatible hydrogels have the potential to be good candidates for various biotechnological applications.

Iron, one of the most important micronutrients in living organisms, is involved in basic processes, such as respiration and photosynthesis. Iron content is rather low in all organisms, amounting in plants to about 0.009% of dry weight. To date, one of the most accurate methods for measuring iron concentration in plant tissues is flame absorption atomic spectroscopy. However, this approach is time-consuming and expensive and requires specific equipment not commonly found in plant laboratories. Therefore, a simpler, yet accurate method that can be routinely used is needed. The colorimetric Prussian Blue method is regularly used for qualitative iron staining in animal and plant histological sections. In this study, we adapted the Prussian Blue method for quantitative measurements of iron in tobacco leaves. We validated the accuracy of this method using both atomic spectroscopy and Prussian Blue staining to measure iron content in the same samples and found a linear regression (R = 0.988) between the two procedures. We conclude that the Prussian Blue method for quantitative iron measurement in plant tissues is precise, simple, and inexpensive. However, the linear regression presented here may not be appropriate for other plant species, due to potential interactions between the sample and the reagent. Establishment of a regression curve is thus needed for different plant species.

No abstract