Project description
Novel photocatalytic approach for cleaner food and water systems
The EU has stringent regulations regarding food production quality which require a sensitive and selective screening system to detect pesticides in water and food. Micro/nanomotors can rapidly degrade pollutants into electrochemically detectable products, as they 'shoot and degrade' any pollutant in their path, leading to a non-selective detection. The EU-funded MIPhmotors project will employ, for the first time, molecular imprinting to enable micro/nanomotors to detect toxic pesticides selectively and accurately in water and food. Light will be used to power micro/nanomotors' motion and photodegrade the imprinted pesticide via the specific recognition sites created by molecular imprinting. This research can be extended to other pollutants, providing new opportunities in the field of micro/nanomotors and their application for water purification, sensing and biomedicine.
Objective
"In recent years, the use of toxic pesticides in agriculture has been intensified to fulfill the increasing demand for food, at the expense of a heavily polluted environment. Growing of food using polluted water causes serious risks for human health. Therefore, Europe has introduced increasingly stringent regulations on food production quality, which require a sensitive and selective screening system that can detect pesticides in water and food. Micro/nanomotors, combining the enhanced physicochemical properties of micro/nanoscale materials with their autonomous motion capability, have demonstrated a great potential for the fast degradation of pollutants into electrochemically detectable products. Still, there is no control on their degradation ability, as they ""shoot and degrade"" any pollutant on their path, leading to a non-selective detection. Moreover, the motion is generally achieved by using toxic fuels or through the decomposition of motors themselves, limiting their practical applications.
The present MSCA IF project ""MIPhmotors"" aims to selectively and sensitively detect toxic pesticides in water and food by employing for the first time the molecular imprinting technique for the preparation of photocatalytic micro/nanomotors with various sizes and shapes. This innovative class of motors will be able to exploit a renewable and abundant resource as light to move and, at the same time, selectively photodegrade the imprinted pesticide via the specific recognition sites created by molecular imprinting. Then, the electro-active degradation product will be detected by electrochemical measurements using commercial screen-printed electrodes.
The proposed research activity can be extended for the detection of other pollutants, and will open new opportunities in the field of micro/nanomotors and in their application for water purification, sensing and biomedicine."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies desalination reverse osmosis
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.4. - SPREADING EXCELLENCE AND WIDENING PARTICIPATION
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-WF-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
602 00 BRNO STRED
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.