Applications of Microbe-Based
Nanoparticles in Agriculture: Present
State and Future Challenges
N. B. Raj, M. K. Swamy, B. Purushotham, and S. K. Sukrutha
1 Introduction
Of late, the merging of nanoparticle knowledge and natural resources has led to the
emergence of a new meadow known as nanobiotechnology. It is engrossed in the
synthesis, employment and use of nanoparticles for various biological applications
(Goodsell 2004). The term “Nano” is derived from Latin language which means
dwarf. A nanoparticle consists of all three dimensions within 1–100 nm. In 1857,
Michael Faraday published the first scientific report on properties of nanoparticles
(NP) entitled “Experimental relations of gold (and other metals) to light”. However,
in 1981, the concrete progress in nanotechnology was started by Eric Drexler (Drexler
1981; Prathna et al. 2010). Nanoparticles have drawn attention globally, owing to its
unique physicochemical, magnetic and optoelectronic properties (Daniel and Astruc
2004; Zharov et al. 2005; Bogunia-Kubik et al. 2002). The production of tailormade nanoparticles has expanded the dimensions of their applications in myriad of
industries such as agriculture, textile, electronics, optics, medical and food (Mandal
et al. 2006). Various methods such as physical, chemical and biological are used
for NP synthesis. Nanoparticles are synthesized by two methods, namely bottom-up
and top-down method. In a bottom-up method, atoms and molecules are combined
together to form the final product. This approach results in the synthesis of distinct
nanoparticles of different size and shape (Mittal et al. 2013), and the second one is
top-down method, wherein a substance is reduced by physical or chemical techniques
(Gade et al. 2010). Evidences suggest that, NPs synthesized by bottom-up approach
N. B. Raj · M. K. Swamy (B) · B. Purushotham
Department of Biotechnology, East West First Grade College, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560091, India
e-mail: swamy.bio@gmail.com
S. K. Sukrutha (B)
Department of Microbiology, East West First Grade College, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560091, India
e-mail: sukrutha357@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_12
343
Nanoparticles in Agriculture: Present
State and Future Challenges
N. B. Raj, M. K. Swamy, B. Purushotham, and S. K. Sukrutha
1 Introduction
Of late, the merging of nanoparticle knowledge and natural resources has led to the
emergence of a new meadow known as nanobiotechnology. It is engrossed in the
synthesis, employment and use of nanoparticles for various biological applications
(Goodsell 2004). The term “Nano” is derived from Latin language which means
dwarf. A nanoparticle consists of all three dimensions within 1–100 nm. In 1857,
Michael Faraday published the first scientific report on properties of nanoparticles
(NP) entitled “Experimental relations of gold (and other metals) to light”. However,
in 1981, the concrete progress in nanotechnology was started by Eric Drexler (Drexler
1981; Prathna et al. 2010). Nanoparticles have drawn attention globally, owing to its
unique physicochemical, magnetic and optoelectronic properties (Daniel and Astruc
2004; Zharov et al. 2005; Bogunia-Kubik et al. 2002). The production of tailormade nanoparticles has expanded the dimensions of their applications in myriad of
industries such as agriculture, textile, electronics, optics, medical and food (Mandal
et al. 2006). Various methods such as physical, chemical and biological are used
for NP synthesis. Nanoparticles are synthesized by two methods, namely bottom-up
and top-down method. In a bottom-up method, atoms and molecules are combined
together to form the final product. This approach results in the synthesis of distinct
nanoparticles of different size and shape (Mittal et al. 2013), and the second one is
top-down method, wherein a substance is reduced by physical or chemical techniques
(Gade et al. 2010). Evidences suggest that, NPs synthesized by bottom-up approach
N. B. Raj · M. K. Swamy (B) · B. Purushotham
Department of Biotechnology, East West First Grade College, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560091, India
e-mail: swamy.bio@gmail.com
S. K. Sukrutha (B)
Department of Microbiology, East West First Grade College, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560091, India
e-mail: sukrutha357@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. Lateef et al. (eds.), Microbial Nanobiotechnology, Materials Horizons: From Nature
to Nanomaterials, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4777-9_12
343