Graphene Oxide–Upconversion Nanoparticle Based Portable Sensors for Assessing Nutritional Deficiencies in Crops

Abstract

The development of innovative technologies to rapidly detect biomarkers associated with nutritional deficiencies in crops is highly relevant to agriculture and thus 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 could be used in the early detection of Zn deficiency in crops, sensing mRNAs encoding members of the ZIP-transporter family in crops. ZIPs are membrane transport proteins, some of which are up-regulated at the early stages of Zn deficiency, and they are part of the biological mechanism by which crops respond to nutritional deficiency. The principle of these sensors is based on the intensity of the optical output resulting from the interaction of oligonucleotide-coated upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide in the absence or presence of a specific oligonucleotide target. The sensors can reliably detect mRNAs in RNA extracts from plants using a smartphone camera. Our work introduces the development of accurate and highly sensitive sensors for use in the field to determine crop nutrient status and ultimately facilitate economically important nutrient management decisions.

Contribution of resonance energy transfer to the luminescence quenching of upconversion nanoparticles with graphene oxide

“…In this work we have analyzed the different mechanism that produce quenching of the UCNPs emission by GO. Based in the general assumption that this quenching is mainly governed by RET between the UCNPs and GO, 27,29 we hypothesized that quenching efficiency will depend on GO  ratio compositions (Eq. 1).…”

“…This strategy has been used for the sensitive detection of nucleic acids, proteins, small molecules, and metal ions using UCNPs. 18,27,29,30 These pioneer works have clearly demonstrated the quenching ability of this 2D nanomaterial, which is achieved thanks to its chemical structure. GO incorporates hydrophilic groups into its structure, which can provide colloidal stability in aqueous solutions and are usually introduced through the chemical oxidation of different types of graphite or carbon nanofibers that are often used as starting raw materials.…”

“…ligand recognition by aptamers), as this hampers the interaction between free nucleobases from ssDNA and GO surface. [24][25][26][27][28] This results in a distance change between the UCNP and the GO surface, which would lead to a restoration of the UCNP emission. This strategy has been used for the sensitive detection of nucleic acids, proteins, small molecules, and metal ions using UCNPs.…”

Functional Analysis of NtZIP4B and Zn Status-Dependent Expression Pattern of Tobacco ZIP Genes

“…In plants ZIP genes have been shown to regulate and also contribute to the uptake and root/shoot distribution of Zn in a variety of species (Palmer and Guerinot, 2009; Sinclair and Krämer, 2012; Ricachenevsky et al, 2015; Giust et al, 2018). To maintain Zn homeostasis under changing nutrient conditions, the concerted action of numerous transport genes is necessary.…”

Graphene Oxide as an Optical Biosensing Platform: A Progress Report

“…Importantly, this bioanalytical strategy can be enhanced by designing probes with a significant difference in their adsorption energy via GO. [60] Moreover, this biosensing mechanism has been extended to aptamer selection, [61] evanescent wave aptasensors, [62] peptide-based biosensing platforms, [63] biomolecular logic gates operations, [64,65] in situ live cell sensing, [66][67][68] and drug monitoring. [60] Moreover, this biosensing mechanism has been extended to aptamer selection, [61] evanescent wave aptasensors, [62] peptide-based biosensing platforms, [63] biomolecular logic gates operations, [64,65] in situ live cell sensing, [66][67][68] and drug monitoring.…”