Biophysical Insights into ZnO and Carbon Nanodot-Plant Interactions through Impedance Spectroscopy of Crassula ovata

Biophysical Insights into ZnO and Carbon Nanodot-Plant Interactions through Impedance Spectroscopy of Crassula ovata | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Biophysical Insights into ZnO and Carbon Nanodot-Plant Interactions through Impedance Spectroscopy of Crassula ovata Kajal Gautam, Mohit Bhatt, Archna Sagdeo, Anil Sinha, Hukum Singh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7837159/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Insertion of nanoparticles (NPs) in plants induce various biophysical changes as well as modulate ion channels and transporters, resulting in improved water and nutrient uptake. High concentration of NPs has toxic effect like excessive production of reactive oxygen species, hormonal imbalances and impaired cellular processes. These biophysical changes also change the complex impedance of plant leaves. Here, we use impedance spectroscopy to probe, for the first time, the electrochemical response of the succulent Crassula ovata leaves following exposure to water-soluble carbon nanodots (CNDs) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were introduced through static root immersion in aqueous suspensions at varying concentrations (1, 5, and 10 mg L-1). Quantitative analysis revealed strikingly different dielectric signatures. CND treatment caused grain boundary (gb) resistance to rise from ~256 Ω in the control sample to ~27.6 kΩ at 10 mg L-1 accompanied by a consistent suppression of permittivity, reflecting progressive obstruction of ionic pathways and space-charge accumulation, on NP insertion. ZnO NPs, in contrast, showed a saturation effect: gb resistance peaked at ~14.6 kΩ at 5 mg L-1 but declined to ~7.3 kΩ at 10 mg L-1, where conductivity and dielectric relaxation partially recovered through Zn2+-mediated defect pathways. Equivalent-circuit modelling and Jonscher analysis corroborated these concentration-dependent shifts, revealing nanomaterial-specific modulation of ionic mobility and capacitive behaviour. Together, these findings establish a mechanistic contrast between carbon-based and metal-oxide nanomaterials in plant systems, underscoring nanoparticle chemistry as a key determinant of electrochemical response. This comparative framework advances plant nanobionics by linking material composition to bioelectrical function, with implications for bioelectronics, sensing, and sustainable energy interfaces. Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Biophysical methods/Electrophysiology Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Nanobiotechnology/Nanoparticles Crassula ovata carbon nanodots (CND) ZnO nanoparticles impedance spectroscopy plant nanobionics biophysics charge transport Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7837159","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":528936273,"identity":"7f5d0642-f215-4227-a814-9a1f0c5d0575","order_by":0,"name":"Kajal Gautam","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFklEQVRIie2PsWrDMBRFbbImuyDU+oLCE4FmSdOxf9DZxmAvKqSbxycyZEnxavDQX0goaJbRmj/oEi+dWnDpVEihctIMpZHp2EFnkNDlHe6T5zkc/5fQ87GHqgEStE+17R738aD4oipmk9FeCf+imHuu+00S4aHVDr3ejLcfPKG9RYWqDzp9uNG1aZkG53haYRvOxL00xzJCRUDfrp8SMEo8ulAWBTnDgcx8gUaBVinDVlGRtCn5CxOfMrsSeY0qNIuxMm06FUo4mw8kj0RhWhQkIR3y7hYgz3flmUxiUdRYIUzYashnps7+F5rHq7dXGV+u81i/73aE0jJ9bJpsGtgUOOYMfyRwenzfcpykvxKHw+FwfPMFI2VyAQ2JsaYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2427-7229","institution":"UPES","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kajal","middleName":"","lastName":"Gautam","suffix":""},{"id":528936274,"identity":"ee65c4b5-b747-434a-8b8a-15ca2e1bd403","order_by":1,"name":"Mohit Bhatt","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UPES","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohit","middleName":"","lastName":"Bhatt","suffix":""},{"id":528936275,"identity":"45e2eb69-f553-4b68-9b66-ac6f5145cf09","order_by":2,"name":"Archna Sagdeo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"HBNI","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Archna","middleName":"","lastName":"Sagdeo","suffix":""},{"id":528936276,"identity":"95d02a57-064c-442a-a9f4-a3e503d65fe4","order_by":3,"name":"Anil Sinha","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UPES","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anil","middleName":"","lastName":"Sinha","suffix":""},{"id":528936277,"identity":"f182f2f4-95ec-4c0d-9657-87a145f5d7f9","order_by":4,"name":"Hukum Singh","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2112-6182","institution":"Forest Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hukum","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-11 19:25:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7837159/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7837159/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93470723,"identity":"0c8da31d-47f3-4af9-9e5f-f53c43714923","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-14 08:11:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2331457,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7837159/v1_covered_15977116-241b-4b7c-9f06-9d7b5e51f66b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Biophysical Insights into ZnO and Carbon Nanodot-Plant Interactions through Impedance Spectroscopy of Crassula ovata","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Crassula ovata, carbon nanodots (CND), ZnO nanoparticles, impedance spectroscopy, plant nanobionics, biophysics, charge transport","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7837159/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7837159/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Insertion of nanoparticles (NPs) in plants induce various biophysical changes as well as modulate ion channels and transporters, resulting in improved water and nutrient uptake. 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ZnO NPs, in contrast, showed a saturation effect: gb resistance peaked at ~14.6 kΩ at 5 mg L-1 but declined to ~7.3 kΩ at 10 mg L-1, where conductivity and dielectric relaxation partially recovered through Zn2+-mediated defect pathways. Equivalent-circuit modelling and Jonscher analysis corroborated these concentration-dependent shifts, revealing nanomaterial-specific modulation of ionic mobility and capacitive behaviour. Together, these findings establish a mechanistic contrast between carbon-based and metal-oxide nanomaterials in plant systems, underscoring nanoparticle chemistry as a key determinant of electrochemical response. 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