Gold nanoparticles harvested from plants

from the green-gold dept.
Gina Miller writes "Nanoparticles of gold, silver, Europium, palladium, and iron can be produced by plants: No fairy tale: Researchers spin straw into gold. Alfalfa can concentrate gold from the soil into nanoparticles useful as tags for studying biological processes and as contacts for nanoelectronic circuits. The method is cheaper and less polluting than alternative methods, and the nanoparticles can be made more uniform by controlling the acidity of the growth medium. Oats work even better than alfalfa. Some technical details are available at Plants with the Midas touch: formation of gold nanoparicles by alfalfa plants."