Fig. 7.

DNA damage as expressed by comet assay in pea plants treated with different concentrations of CS–PMAA–NPK NPs for 24 h (upper row) and 48 h (lower row). Nucleus in intact cell before lysis in A and B to compare the nucleus size and shape. The shape of nuclei after lysis and electrophoresis in control were round and intact. The comet length was increasing with the applied concentration and the incubation time. Higher concentrations of 1 and 0.5 R resulted in the formation of fragmented nuclei in intact cells and, thus, were excluded from the analysis