Approaching the end of the experiment, constant exposure to the polluted medium led to a negative impact on the bio-trap, since the plants are prone to gradually developing necrosis throughout exposure . The bio-trap in the current study was severely exposed to copper pollution for a relatively prolonged period of 11 days; the exposure started at 0.178 g/L on Day 1 and then reached a mean of ~0.124 on Day 11 when the bio-trap was alone in the experimental medium. For a relative measure, the copper extraction by the bio-trap in (F) on Day 11 was ~199% less effective than that of the zinc-reinforced zeolite in (ZnGZ-M-F) and ~342% less effective than that of the combination of the zinc-reinforced zeolite and the bio-trap (ZnGZ-M+F), Supplementary Materials Table . That is also still dramatically higher than the level of ≥ 0.048 g/L associated with the induction of necrosis . This could explain the lesser ability to trap copper alone over time by the bio-trap if not supported by an inorganic method, i.e., zinc-reinforced zeolite in our example, as highlighted below. No signs of necrosis were seen when the V. faba biotrap was coupled with the zinc-reinforced zeolite (with and without magnet presence), Supplementary Materials Note 1 including Figs. 7A-9A for supportive details on plant parameters and biochemical responses to cupric stress using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) following freeze-drying (lyophilisation).