Making elicitors with nanoparticles involves using engineered nanoparticles to stimulate plants to produce valuable bioactive compounds, especially secondary metabolites, which have applications in medicine, agriculture, and industry.

What are nanoparticle elicitors?

Nanoparticles (NPs) such as zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and selenium nanoparticles can act as abiotic elicitors—substances that trigger plant defense mechanisms and metabolic pathways, leading to increased production of secondary metabolites.

These nanoparticles can be synthesized using chemical or green (plant extract-based) methods. For example, ZnO NPs can be made by mixing a plant extract with a zinc salt solution, observing a color change, then centrifuging and drying the product.

How do they work?

When added to plant cell or tissue cultures, nanoparticles induce mild stress or mimic pathogen attack, activating the plant’s defense responses.

This process often involves the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activation of signaling pathways, which upregulate genes responsible for secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

The effectiveness depends on the type, size, concentration of nanoparticles, and the specific plant system.

Application in plant cultures:

Nanoparticles are mixed into the culture medium at optimized concentrations (e.g., 0.5 mg/L for ZnO or CuO NPs in mung bean callus cultures).

The treated cultures show increased production of compounds like phenolics, glycosides, and flavonoids, which are important for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Advantages for the future:

This technology enables sustainable, cost-effective, and scalable production of rare or expensive plant compounds, reducing reliance on wild harvesting and supporting innovation in agriculture and biotechnology.

In summary:

Nanoparticle elicitors are a cutting-edge tool in plant biotechnology, leveraging the unique properties of nanoparticles to boost the production of valuable compounds in plant cultures for medicine, food, and industry.