Single-walled carbon nanotube-mediated plasmid DNA delivery in the model monocot

Background/aim: Plant genetic engineering is a valuable approach for improving stress tolerance, crop productivity, and quality traits. However, its progress is limited by the drawbacks of traditional transformation methods. Commonly used techniques, such as Materials and methods: We investigated the use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as nanocarriers for plasmid DNA delivery in the model monocot plant Results: The TEM and AFM analyses revealed that the SWCNTs retained a thin, elongated needle-like structure, consistent with their ability to pass through the plant cell wall. Zeta potential measurements showed a negative surface charge of -43 mV for COOH-SWCNTs that shifted to +56 mV after PEI functionalization, enabling electrostatic binding of plasmid DNA. pDNA-SWCNT complexes at different mass ratios were applied to both callus and seed explants to evaluate their delivery potential. Successful delivery was confirmed by Conclusion: Our findings show that the SWCNT-based system enabled the delivery of a large plasmid (~12 kb), supporting transient reporter gene expression in monocot tissues. Overall, the data suggest that SWCNT-mediated delivery represents a promising technique for DNA delivery in monocots, and further optimization is expected to improve its efficiency.