Effect of nano-zinc oxide on nitrogenase activity in legumes: an interplay of concentration and exposure time

Abstract

Experiments were carried out to study the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) on nitrogenase activity in legumes. In the first experiment, nodulated roots of cluster bean, moth bean, green gram and cowpea were dipped in Hoagland solution containing 1.5 and 10 lg mL -1 of nano-ZnO for 24 h. Nitrogenase activity in cluster bean, green gram and cowpea roots increased after dipping in solution containing 1.5 lg mL -1 nano-ZnO, but decreased in roots dipped in solution containing 10 lg mL -1 nano-ZnO. However, in moth bean roots, nitrogenase activity decreased after dipping in solution containing either concentration of nano-ZnO. In the second experiment, nodulated roots of green gram were dipped in Hoagland solution containing 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 lg mL -1 nano-ZnO for 6-30 h before estimating nitrogenase activity. Results showed that an interactive effect of nanoZnO concentration and exposure time influenced nitrogenase activity. The possible reasons behind this effect have been discussed. A model [A = 3.44 ? 0.46t -0.01t 2 -0.002tc 2 (R 2 = 0.81)] involving linear and power components was developed to simulate the response of nitrogenase activity in green gram roots to the concentration and exposure time of nano-ZnO.

A detailed study of oxy-fuel combustion of biomass in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustor: Evaluation of catalytic performance of metal nanoparticles (Al, Ni) for combustion efficiency improvement

“…In general having an environmentally friendly nature, the use of nanosized catalyst particles for biomass conversion is popular compared to other methods [39e41]. In this section, the metal-based catalysts (Al and Ni) have been used for production of high thermal efficiency and low pollutants [42]. The Metal catalysts were uniformly crashed using a Pulse Electrical Explosion (PEE10k) at Nano Engineering and Manufacturing Co. (PNF Co.) in Iran.…”