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Radiation technology has been providing a useful tool to modify polymers involving the radiation crosslinking of hydrogels. In the present work, two kinds of hydrogels composed gelatin and carboxymethyl chitosan (gelatin/CM-chitosan), and carboxymethyl chitin (gelatin/CM-chitin) were prepared by the radiation crosslinking. The resulting hydrogels were freeze-dried, sterilized under gamma-ray at a sterilization dose of 25 kGy, and characterized to be utilized as the scaffolds for culturing adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs). The physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and cytotoxicity of these scaffolds were also investigated. The results indicated that both CM-chitosan and CM-chitin much improved the swelling capacity, porosity, and pore size of the gelatin-derived scaffolds. The swelling degree of gelatin/CM-chitosan and gelatin/CM-chitin scaffolds was about 7-9 g/g after 6 hrs immerging in PBS, and their porosity was about 70-73% with pore size ranging from 100 to 300 mm. The results also revealed that the compressive modulus of gelatin/CM-chitosan and gelatin/CM-chitin was 45.6 and 66.4 kPa, respectively, which were suitable for soft tissue engineering. Both scaffolds were enzymatically biodegradable by collagenase and non-cytotoxic for hADSCs with an RGR of ~97%. Thus, the resultant scaffolds can be suitably utilized for culturing hADSC in practice to regenerate soft tissues.

Textile wastewater is known to have a large number of hazardous pollutants, intense color and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration. The electron beam method is considered useful in treatment textile wastewater through chemical oxidation process. In this study, three real textile wastewaters (Sample 1: Reactive Black 5, Reactive Red 10, and Reactive Orange 13; Sample 2: Reactive Red 10 and Yellow GR; Sample 3: Reactive Black 5 and Turquoise Blue HF–G) from textile dyeing company in Ho Chi Minh city were treated by electron beam method. The effect of absorbed doses and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at different concentrations on the change of pH, removal capacity, COD and five day’s biological oxygen demand (BOD5) were investigated. The results indicated that color, COD, BOD5 and pH decreased with increasing absorbed dose. A sufficient amount of H2O2 in the radiation process could accelerate the color removal process. In the same condition, a color removal efficiency of ~90% was obtained with EB/H2O2, in contrast with color loss by using EB alone (~71%). These results highlighted the potential of EB radiation technology for treatment of textile dyeing wastewater.

Chitooligosaccharides (COS) were prepared by hydrogen peroxide (1%) degradation of chitosan solution (3%) in dilute lactic acid at ambient temperature. The molecular weights of degraded chitosan were measured by gel permeation chromatography, and the chemical structure of resultant COS were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The decrease of chitosan Mw followed the first-order kinetics with the rate constant of 5.71 × 10−7 mol/g/h. As a result, the COS with Mw of 4500 g/mol was obtained at 360 h of the reaction time and its chemical structure almost remained the same as initial chitosan. Germination ability of soybean seeds pre-soaking in COS (4500 g/mol) solution with different concentrations, particularly 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 mg/L was investigated. Results indicated that germination rate increased significantly for all soybean seeds treated with COS compared to the control. Thus, COS prepared by this method can be potentially applied to large-scale production with reasonably low cost and used as an effective biostimulant for sustainable agriculture.

Cu nanoparticles are a potential material for creating novel alternative antimicrobial products due to their unique antibacterial/antifungal properties, stability, dispersion, low cost and abundance as well as being economical and ecofriendly. In this work, carboxymethyl cellulose coated core/shell SiO2@Cu nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a simple and effective chemical reduction process. The initial SiO2 NPs, which were prepared from rice husk ash, were coated by a copper ultrathin film using hydrazine and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as reducing agent and stable agent, respectively. The core/shell SiO2@Cu nanoparticles with an average size of ~19 nm were surrounded by CMC. The results indicated that the SiO2@Cu@CMC suspension was a homogenous morphology with a spherical shape, regular dispersion and good stability. Furthermore, the multicomponent SiO2@Cu@CMC NPs showed good antifungal activity against Phytophthora capsici (P. capsici). The novel Cu NPs-based multicomponent suspension is a key compound in the development of new fungicides for the control of the Phytophthora disease.

Background: Rice blast disease due to Pyricularia oryzae fungus is one of the most destructive ones for rice, causing serious losses in yield and quality in Vietnam and other countries. Studying to develop new fungicides to control the fungal disease effectively is essential.Methods: The sodium alginate-stabilized Cu-Cu2O nanocolloidal solution with a size of about 4 nm and the Cu concentration of 5,000 mg/L was prepared by chemical method. The antifungal activity in vitro against P. oryzae and the ability to control the rice blast disease in the greenhouse of nano Cu-Cu2O/alginate were assessed.Result: The nano Cu-Cu2O/alginate exhibited highly fungal activity with the IC50 of 17.8 mg Cu /L. The disease severity of nano Cu-Cu2O/alginate treatments was in the range of 9.38 - 18.54% in comparison with 47.57% of the untreated control. The grain yield of rice plants treated with nano Cu-Cu2O/alginate increased compared with that of the untreated control, and the Cu content in polished rice was almost the same as that of usually cultured polished rice. Thus, the nano Cu-Cu2O/alginate can be used in agriculture as a plant fungicide, especially for rice cultivation.

The brown spot disease caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum fungus on dragon fruit plants (Hylocereus undatus) is an extremely serious disease. Oligochitosan (OC) and nanosilica (nSiO2) have been considered as effective plant elicitors. In this study, OC with Mw of 3000, 5000, and 7000 g/mol was prepared by γ-irradiation and nSiO2 with size ~ 45 nm was synthesized from rice husk. Mixture of nSiO2–OC was prepared by dispersing nSiO2 in OC solution. The resistant effect against brown spot disease on dragon fruit plants was assessed by measuring the induced chitinase enzyme activity and the disease severity after spraying OC, nSiO2–OC and inoculating fungus. The results showed that all OC enhanced chitinase induction and reduced disease severity compared with control, and the OC ~ 3000 g/mol exhibited the highest activity. The nSiO2–OC also exhibited similar effect as OC and nSiO2, but it was more effective than individual OC or nSiO2 from 120 h onward.

Absract Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) with diameter of ∼74 nm were synthesized by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation of H2SeO3/dextran solution. The SeNPs were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy spectrum and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. The effect of pH of H2SeO3/dextran solutions before gamma irradiation on the size of SeNPs was investigated. The SeNPs/dextran powder was also prepared by spray drying technique and the purity was verified by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The ATBS•+ radical scavenging ability and reducing power of SeNPs were assessed. Results showed that SeNPs/dextran with concentration of 25–100 ppm exhibited high antioxidant activity. The as-prepared SeNPs/dextran powder with selenium content of ∼2.51% (wt%) was of high purity. The influence of gamma Co-60 ray sterilization at dose of 25 kGy on the characteristics of SeNPs/dextran powder was also examined.

Oligochitosan (OC) is effective biostimulant on growth promotion and elicitation against disease infection for plants. However, the range of OC molecular weight that exhibits the most effective activity is not fully understood and requires further investigation. In this study, OCs with different weight average molecular weight (Mw) were prepared by gamma Co-60 irradiation degradation of chitosan in solution and the effect on growth promotion and enhancement of fruit yield of chili plant (Capsicum frutescens L.) by foliar application of OCs particularly with Mw of 7.8, 5.0, and 2.5 kDa was investigated. Chili plants, cultivated in a greenhouse were sprayed with OC concentration of 50 mg/L for three times. Results indicated that among treatments, OC with 2.5 kDa proved to be the best, which increased the shoot fresh weight by 71.5%, shoot dry weight by 184%, total chlorophyll content by 12%, and fruit fresh weight by 49.8% for the control. Thus, OC with low Mw (2.5 kDa) that can be suitably produced on large scale by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation degradation of chitosan solution is potentially promising to apply as a biostimulant to enhance chili fruit yield significantly.

This paper fills in a research gap in what concerns gender and academic rank at UK universities, where women are not far from reaching the 50% share of all academic and research staff, but not even close to reaching such a share at (full) professorial level. Using an ordered logit model and the results of a survey conducted in 2013 with 2270 responses from academics from all fields of knowledge at the 24 Russell Group universities, we find three consistent results. First, being a woman has a negative and significant association with academic rank, except for the case when parenthood is timed with career considerations in mind. Second, the percentage of time spent on teaching and teaching-related activities has a negative and statistically significant association with academic rank. This association is more pronounced in the case of women, who spend a higher percentage of their working time on teaching and teaching-related activities than men, as do those in lower academic ranks. Since women tend to be in lower ranks, the percentage of time spent on teaching and teaching-related activities may be considered both a cause and a result of the gender gap. Third, we find a positive and significant association between the number of children under the age of 18 years and the academic rank of both men and women, as long as babies were timed with career considerations in mind, and a non-significant association when they were not. A possible explanation for this is unlikely to be that children have a positive impact on academic rank, but rather that they arrived after a certain rank had been secured. We conclude with some policy recommendations to help reduce the gender gap.

In this study, nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate was synthesised by the chemical reduction of tetra-amminecopper (II) ion complexes soluble using hydrazine as a reducing agent and alginate as a stabiliser. The influence of various copper ion concentrations on particle size and morphology of produced nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate was investigated. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement revealed that the synthesised nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate was mostly composed of Cu2O-Cu in the form of a Cu2O@Cu core–shell structure with particle sizes of 4.2, 5.3, and 8.4 nm for 60, 80, and 100 mM of copper ion initial concentrations, respectively. The obtained nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate exhibited high antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae (Xanthomonas OO). The results showed that the nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate containing 30 mg.l−1 of copper ions completely inhibited the growth of Xanthomonas OO bacteria, which are responsible for the rice leaf blight disease. Nano Cu2O-Cu/alginate materials can be used as a fungicide to replace toxic agro-chemicals and potentially applied to the development of sustainable agricultural production.

Oligochitosan with weight average molecu-lar weight (Mw) of 5000 g/mol was prepared by gamma Co-60 radiation degradation of 4% chitosan solution containing 0.5% H2O2 at 21 kGy. Nanosilica with size of 10 – 30 nm was synthesized by calcination of acid treated rice husk at 700o C for 2 h. The mixture of 2% oligo-chitosan-2% nanosilica was prepared by dispersion of nanosilica in oligochitosan solution. Oligochitosan, nanosilica and their mixture were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), transmission electr-on microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Effect of foliar application of oli-gochitosan and oligochitosan-nanosilica on soybean seed yield was conducted in experimental field. Results indi-cated that soybean seed yield increased 10.5 and 17.0% for oligochitosan and oligochitosan-nanosilica, respect-tively for the control. Radiation degraded oligo-chitosan and its mixture with nanosilica can be potentially used for cultivation of soybean with enhanced seed yield.

Oligochitosan (OC) with molecular weight Mw of 5000 g/mol was prepared by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation of chitosan solution. Nanosilica (nSiO2) with the size of 10 - 30 nm was synthesized by calcination of acid treated rice husk. The mixture of 1% OC - 1% nSiO2 was prepared by dispersion of nSiO2 in OC solution. The morphology of nSiO2 in the mixture of OC-nSiO2 was measured from images of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of foliar application of the mixture of OC-nSiO2 on the induction of resistance against anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fungus on chili fruits was investigated. Results indicated that foliar application of OC-nSiO2 with the concentration of 60 mg/l - 60 mg/l was found to be as the optimal treatment that reduced the disease severity on chili fruits to 22.2% compared with 90.0% of the control. Thus, OC-nSiO2 hybrid material could be considered as an effective biotic elicitor to prevent anthracnose disease infection for chili fruits. Furthermore, the prepared OC-nSiO2 hybrid material can also be used as an environmentally friendly agrochemical product for sustainable development of agriculture.

Colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with particle size less than 10 nm and concentration of 2 mM/L (~200 mg/L) were synthesized by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation of Ag+/chitosan solutions with different chitosan concentration of 0.5%, 1% and 2% (w/v). Incorporation of AgNPs onto cotton fabric was carried out by padding method with 100% wet pick-up. The content of AgNPs deposited on cotton fabric and released from cotton fabric after repeated washing was determined by inductively couple plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The results indicated that cotton/AgNPs fabric made from padding into AgNPs solution with 0.5% - 1% chitosan was the best one of AgNPs adhesion ability on cotton fabric. Results on antibacterial activity against S. aureus showed that cotton/AgNPs fabric with AgNPs content more than 100 mg/kg exhibited highly antibacterial activity (η > 98%). The mechanical property (tensile strength and elongation) of cotton/AgNPs fabrics was almost unchanged in comparison with untreated cotton fabric. Thus, the resultant cotton/AgNPs fabric with highly antibacterial activity can be potentially used as bed drapes and/or patient uniforms in hospitals, etc.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with diameter about 12 nm were immobilized on the surface of cotton fabrics by γ-irradiation of fabrics in the AgNO3 chitosan solution. Effects of absorbed dose, concentration of AgNO3 solution on immobilization of the AgNPs on fabrics were investigated. The optimal dose was selected to be 13.8 kGy and the suitable concentration of AgNO3 was 1.5mM in 1% chitosan solution. The content of AgNPs on fabrics was of 1,696 ± 80 mg/kg for these conditions. The presence of AgNPs on fabrics was confirmed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The antibacterial activity of AgNPs/cotton fabrics after 40 washings against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was found to be 99.99%. In addition, the AgNPs fabrics were innoxious to the skin (k=0) after 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 washings by skin-irritation testing to animal (rabbit).

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with size in the range of 10–50 nm were synthesized by γCo-60 irradiation using water soluble chitosan (WSC) as stabilizer and size enlargement by seed approach. The maximum absorption wavelength ( λ max ) was measured by UV–vis spectroscopy and particle size was determined from TEM images. Results showed that value of λ max increased from 523 nm (seed particles) to 525, 537 and 549 nm and the size of AuNPs increased from 10 nm (seed particles) to 20, 38 and 53 nm for concentration ratio of [Au 3+ ]/[Au 0 ] (seed) of 2.5, 5 and 10, respectively. When [Au 3+ ]/[Au 0 ] = 20 and 40, the size of AuNPs was not further increased. Antioxidant activity of AuNPs with size of 10, 20, 38 and 53 nm was investigated using free radical 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS + ). Results indicated that among the size of AuNPs tested, AuNPs of 10 nm exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity. Thus, due to the compatibility of WSC and unique property of AuNPs, AuNPs/WSC synthesized by γ-irradiation method can be potentially applied in biomedicines, cosmetics and in other fields as well.

Polyethylene nonwoven (PE) fabric was grafted with acrylic acid (PE-g-PAAc) by the γ-ray pre-irradiation process. The effect of dose and acrylic acid concentration on the grafting degree was investigated. The dose of about 20–30 kGy, acrylic acid concentration of 20–30%, and the reaction time of about 2 h at ∼90 °C were selected as suitable parameters for grafting. The PE-g-PAAc fabric was then impregnated in colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) solution for incorporating AgNPs. The resultant PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs fabric containing ∼10,000 ppm AgNPs exhibits high antimicrobial activity (η>99%) against Escherichia coli in water. The release of silver into water filtrate determined by ICP-MS was less than 0.1 mg/L. The PE-g-PAAc/AgNPs fabric can be potentially applied for water and/or air treatment as an antimicrobial membrane filter.

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles in zeolite A were synthesized by two steps: (i) ion-exchange of copper ions into the zeolite and (ii) reduction of copper ions in cages of the zeolite by hydrazine hydrate in base medium. The Cu2O nanoparticles/zeolite product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The particle size of Cu2O nanoparticles was of 40 nm. The antibacterial activity of the as-synthesized Cu2O nanoparticles/zeolite against Escherichia coli was also investigated. Cu2O NPs/zeolite product can be favorably produced on large scale for water treatment and agricultural application as antimicrobial agent.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in spherical shape with diameter of 6–35 nm stabilized by dextran were synthesized by γ-irradiation method. The AuNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The influence of pH, Au3+ concentration, and dextran concentration on the size of AuNPs was investigated. Results indicated that the smallest AuNPs size (6 nm) and the largest AuNPs size (35 nm) were obtained for pH of 1 mM Au3+/1% dextran solution of 5.5 and 7.5, respectively. The smaller Au3+ concentration favored smaller size and conversely the smaller dextran concentration favored bigger size of AuNPs. AuNPs powders were prepared by spay drying, coagulation, and centrifugation and their sizes were also evaluated. The purity of prepared AuNPs powders was also examined by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Thus, the as-prepared AuNPs stabilized by biocompatible dextran in solution and/or in powder form can be potentially applied in biomedicine and pharmaceutics.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with diameter from 4 to 10 nm, capping by hyaluronan (HA) were synthesized using a γ-irradiation method. The maximum absorption wavelengths at 517–525 nm of colloidal AuNPs/HA solutions were measured by UV–vis spectroscopy. The size and size distribution of AuNPs were determined from TEM images. The influence of various factors on the size of AuNPs particularly the concentration of Au 3+ and HA, and dose rate were also investigated. Results indicated that higher dose rate and HA concentration favor smaller sizes of AuNPs whereas the size increases with Au 3+ concentration. The colloidal AuNPs/HA solution was fairly stable more than 6 months under storage at ambient condition. The AuNPs stabilized by biocompatible HA with the size less than 10 nm as prepared can potentially be applied in biomedicines and cosmetics.

Chitosan from squid pens with deacetylation degree (DD) of 70% and average molecular weight ( M w0 ) 90.5 × 10 3 in dilute lactic acid solution containing H 2 O 2 (1%) was effectively degraded by irradiation with gamma 60 Co radiation (1.33 kGy/h) at doses in the range 4–16 kGy. Based on the results of M w measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), it was concluded that there was particularly strong synergy between H 2 O 2 and radiation for degradation at the lower radiation doses studied. Radiation scission yields (Gs) were found out to be 2.2 μmol/J and 0.2 μmol/J for 5% chitosan with and without 1% H 2 O 2 , respectively. The DD of degraded chitosan measured from IR spectra was almost unchanged by the treatment.

Synergistic degradation of chitosan by γ-irradiation of chitosan solution (3%) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (0.25%, 0.5% and 1%) was investigated. The efficiency of the degradation process was demonstrated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis of the average molecular weight of degraded chitosan (oligochitosan). Structures of resultant oligochitosan were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that oligochitosan with Mw from 5000 to 10,000 could be efficiently prepared by γ-irradiation of chitosan solution containing a small amount of hydrogen peroxide at low dose less than 10 kGy. There was almost no significant change in the main chain structure of oligochitosan; however, the obtained oligochitosans lost about 10% of amino groups and the formation of carboxyl groups could not be specified by FT-IR spectra. The morphology state of oligochitosan was essentially amorphous, which differs from that of original chitosan. The combined γ ray/H2O2 method is significantly efficient for scale-up manufacture of oligochitosan.

Gold nanoparticles with pre-selected size in the range 5–40 nm were synthesized by γ-irradiation of Au3+ solution containing natural polysaccharide alginate as a stabilizer. The gold nanoparticles with controllable size were prepared by two approaches: (i) varying the concentration of Au3+ from 0.25 to 1 mM and alginate from 0.25% to 1% (w/v) and (ii) enlargement of seed particles with double size from 20 to 40 nm at [Au3+]/[Au0]=6. The obtained gold nanoparticles were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that γ-irradiation method is suitable for production of gold nanoparticles with controllable size and high purity.

Radiation-induced synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using chitosan (CTS) as a stabiliser and free radical scavenger is feasible and satisfiable to green method. The conversion dose (Ag+ into Ag0) was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy and Ag-NPs size was characterised by transmission electron microscopy. The average diameter of Ag-NPs was smaller than 10 nm with narrow size distribution and the colloidal Ag-NPs have good stability for a long time of storage. The effect of several parameters, such as pH, Ag+ and CTS concentration and molecular weight of CTS on Ag-NPs size was also investigated. Ag-NPs of ∼7 nm exhibited highly antimicrobial effect. The inhibitory efficiency of Ag-NPs for Staphylococcus aureus was more than 99.9% at 5 ppm and the effective dose (ED50) of inhibition for Corticium salmonicolor was of 27.2 ppm.

Colloidal silver nanoparticles were prepared by γ-irradiating Ag+ in aqueous solution in the presence of 2% polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as stabilising agent and ethyl alcohol as free radical (OH•) scavenger. The saturated conversion dose of Ag+ into Ag was determined by UV–Vis spectroscopy and the silver nanoparticles size was characterised by transmission electron microscopy. The influence of Ag+ concentration (1–50 mM) on the saturated conversion dose and average diameter of silver nanoparticles was investigated. Results showed that the saturated conversion dose was from 8 to 48 kGy and the silver particles size was in the range of 6–21 nm for Ag+ concentration from 1 to 50 mM. The effect of PVP molecular weight on silver particles size was studied as well.

Radiation processing technology is proved to be a useful tool for modification of polymer material including grafting of monomer onto polymer. In this study, partially deacetylated chitin (PD-chitin) was prepared by soaking chitin in NaOH solution with various concentrations from 10% to 50% (w/w) at room temperature for four days. The degree of deacetylation (DD%) of chitin samples was measured by IR spectroscopy method. Radiation grafting of acrylic acid (AAc) onto PD-chitin was carried out by immerging PD-chitin in AAc solution (5–20%v/v) for swelling two days. The swelled PD-chitin sample was filtered and irradiated with Co-60 radiation at dose of 4.8 kGy for grafting. The resulting product, so called PD-chitin-g-PAA was changed to sodium form, PD-chitin-g-PANa by treating with NaOH 1 N and used as metal ion adsorbent. The adsorption capacities of studied chitin samples for metal ion typically for Cu2+ was determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that the adsorption capacities for Cu2+ were as the following order: chitin < PD-chitin < PD-chitin-g-PANa < chitosan (DD76%). In addition, equilibrium isotherms were well fitted by Langmuir equation with the constants KL = 15.5 and 19.4 (mg/g); b = 0.02 and 0.04 (L/mg) for PD-chitin and PD-chitin-g-PANa, respectively. The obtained product, PD-chitin-g-PANa can be produced on large scale with competitive cost and used as metal ion adsorbent for water purification as well as for other purposes such as for sorption of dyes and for immobilization of bioactive substances.

Nanomaterials hold great promise of improved plant disease resistance, controlled release of agro-chemicals, enhanced plant growth, etc. In this study, the effect of nanosilica (10 – 30 nm) prepared from rice husk on the growth promotion of chili plant in green house was carried out. The experiment of nanosilica treatment by foliar spraying was arranged in a factorial design with 3 replications at various nanosilica concentrations of 0, 40, 60 and 100 ppm. Plant growth characteristics and chlorophyll content were assessed. Results showed that the fresh weight, dry weight, and chlorophyll content increased with the treatment of nanosilica. The optimal concentration of nanosilica was found to be of 60 ppm. Thus, treatment of nanosilica was beneficial in enhancing the growth of the chili plants.