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Biobased, fully biodegradable, microplastic-free nanocarriers selectively releasing encapsulated actives for sustainable agriculture

Objective

Responding to the growing population in times of climate change, new techniques are essential to transform agriculture into a sustainable but even more productive system. Agrochemical delivery based on micro- and nanocarriers emerged as an efficient tool to decrease pesticide need against various plant diseases. However, these formulations also need non-degradable additives, such as spreading agents or adhesives. While studies underline that the widely used polymeric carriers in agrochemical delivery can release microplastics, research on additive-free or fully biodegradable formulations is very scarce.
The aim of BIOFARM is to understand and develop new nanocarriers for agriculture that omit all non-degradable ingredients and release their payload only on-demand. Fully biobased and biodegradable nanocarriers will be designed as efficient vehicles to deliver and selectively release actives, without the danger of microplastics-formation. More importantly, I will design the nanocarriers surface in such a way to optimize spreading on the leaves and achieve effective adhesion to prevent other non-degradable additives. A general approach for encapsulated plant protection products in designed nanocarriers will be devised for foliar spraying. Without adding environmentally problematic additives, the enhanced adhesion of the proposed nanocarriers will be tailored through bio-polymer modification and green formulation design. The designed nanocarriers will not only be examined by various plant pathogens through vitro tests, but also will be tested on plant leaves on the field. A set of analytical techniques will be used to investigate various characteristics of the prepared nanocarriers, such as the adhesion on the leaves, biodegradation and efficiency. The proposed fully biodegradable nanocarriers represent a general concept and green formulation to replace non-degradable micro- and nanocarriers in the important foliar-spraying market of modern plant protection.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 187 624,32
Address
DRIENERLOLAAN 5
7522 NB Enschede
Netherlands

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Region
Oost-Nederland Overijssel Twente
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

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