Unique biosynthetic abilities revealed by plants determine in vitro cultures of hairy roots as a suitable source of pharmaceutically relevant bioactive compounds. The basic aim of the study was to examine the applicability of aerogel composed of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) for immobilization of Rindera graeca hairy roots by identifying quantitative effects of biomass proliferation and naphthoquinones extracellular secretion in the aerogel-supported culture system. R. graeca hairy roots were simultaneously cultured for 28-days, as (i) nonimmobilized biomass (reference system), (ii) biomass immobilized on macroporous polyurethane foam (PUF), (iii) biomass with disintegrated MTMS aerogel, (iv) biomass immobilized on polypropylene (PP) fibers (as control), and (v) biomass immobilized on monolithic PP-reinforced MTMS aerogel. MTMS aerogel exhibited high level of biocompatibility toward R. graeca hairy roots which grew into the structure of monolithic aerogel-based constructs. Monolithic MTMS-based constructs significantly promoted the proliferation of hairy roots, resulting in 55% higher fresh mass than the reference system. The highest level of naphthoquinones productivity, i.e., 653 µg gDW-1, was noted for PUF-supported culture system.
Keywords: MTMS aerogel; hairy (transgenic) roots; in situ extraction; naphthoquinones; plant biomass immobilization; polyurethane foam (PUF).