"Amine-epoxide Nanogels: Revolutionizing Plant Biofortification with Selenium"

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and a component of biologically important proteins, such as antioxidant enzymes. However, selenium deficiency in diets currently affects over 15% of the world's population. One of the solutions aimed at increasing selenium content in foods produced in selenium-deficient areas is the biofortification of plants with this element. The most commonly used selenium compounds are inorganic selenium salts (for example, sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and sodium selenate (Na2SeO4)), with selenite being more viable due to its low cost, as plants can convert these inorganic forms of selenium into bioavailable selenium-amino acids. Therefore, the combination of selenium with bioactive compounds and phytochemicals in different crops is considered a new trend in the development of functional foods.In the present work plan, polymeric nanogels based on polyethyleneimine and epoxide will be synthesized for use in selenium (Se) biofortification of plants through foliar and soil application. Nanogels loaded with different concentrations of inorganic selenium (sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and selenate (Na2SeO4)) will be prepared and applied to crops during their growth stage. Physicochemical characterization of the pure polymeric nanogels and those loaded with selenium species will be conducted using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential (¶), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The total selenium content, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and mineral nutrient concentration in the crops will be quantified. The chemical speciation of selenium and its distribution in the crops will be studied using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and micro X-ray fluorescence analysis (¼-XRF).