Scientists at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University have developed magnetic nanoparticles using sweet flag (Acorus calamus). With its roots and the leaves possessing antioxidant, antimicrobial, and insecticide properties, this super plant presents a breakthrough for the team.
The extract of sweet flag was utilized as a non-toxic reagent for the manufacture of coated particles. The authors of the work also showed the efficacy of the nanoparticles against several types of pathogenic fungi known to damage cultivated plants.
"There are several methods of manufacturing coated nanoparticles with given characteristics, but all of them include toxic reagents. We have developed an environmentally friendly technology for the production of barium ferrite with the use of sweet flag extract. The surface of these particles has additional biological properties and the particles themselves possess all necessary magnetic and geometrical characteristics," said Prof. Larissa Panina, a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics at BFU.