Exploring the potential of amine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanocarrier to conjugate guide RNA for gene delivery

Sugarcane is a key cash crop, with nations such as Brazil, India, and China being the leading producers. The trade of sugar and related products contributes significantly to these economies. Sugarcane is the primary feedstock for producing sugar and ethanol in the sugarcane processing industry, yielding sugarcane bagasse fly ash (SBFA) as a byproduct. This byproduct comes primarily from the combustion of bagasse (the fibrous residue after juice extraction) and contains silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and other minerals. The use of sugarcane waste materials reduces the need for new raw resources and lowers the environmental impact. Turning waste into valuable nanoparticles also helps manage waste better and reduces the amount that is burnt or dumped in landfills. The fly ash was treated with an alkaline solution (e.g., sodium hydroxide) to extract silica. This process helps dissolve other minerals, leaving a silica-rich residue. After extraction, the silica was purified through acid washing to remove impurities. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were created using the sol-gel method and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was added to them functionally to conjugate sgRNA. The synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticles were characterized for size and shape, functional groups, and crystallinity using various instruments such as Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Dynamic Light Scattering, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Analyzer, and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), respectively. Furthermore, synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticles were bioconjugated with sgRNA of OsEPF1, a gene negative regulation of stomatal development, which in turn, helps reduce yield loss in rice due to drought and heat stress.