Project description
Enhancing Agrochemical Performance and Sustainability Through Cocrystallisation Strategies
Innovative eco-friendly solutions for agrochemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides are urgently needed to reduce water and soil contamination. While substrates with controlled release are promising, their loading capacity is limited due to the poor solubility of some active agents. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AgroNanCo project proposes an approach that leverages cocrystallisation strategies to increase the solubility of agrochemicals. It aims to develop a hybrid system that combines agrochemical cocrystals with inorganic substrates of hydroxyapatite and calcium carbonate nanomaterials. This will enable higher concentrations of active agents in solution, enhancing loading capacity. Meanwhile, the calcium-based nanomaterials, derived from fish biomass waste, will ensure the sustained and controlled release of agents, reducing environmental impact.
Objective
The controlled use of agrochemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, is a major priority in the new Horizon Europe programme due to their environmental impact on water and soil pollution. Substrates with high loading capacity and controlled release ability have been proposed as agrochemical delivery systems. However, a significant issue with these strategies is the low aqueous solubility of some active agents, which limits their loading capacity. Among other technologies, crystal engineering has emerged as a powerful tool to modify the properties of active molecules through cocrystallization strategies, which is a feasible approach to improve the solubility of agrochemicals and increase their loading capacity in the substrate. The main objective of the Advanced Agrochemical Delivery via Hybrid Nanoparticle-Cocrystal Systems (AgroNanCo) project is to develop innovative and low-cost multicomponent materials with high loading capacity that enable the controlled release of agrochemicals with low aqueous solubility. Dr Acebedo proposes a novel strategy to combine the use of agrochemical cocrystals with inorganic substrates, mainly of Hydroxyapatite and Calcium Carbonate nanoparticles (NPs), thus creating hybrid multicomponent materials that exploit the advantages of both. This approach aims to enhance the solubility of agrochemicals via cocrystallization, allowing for higher concentrations in solution and greater loading capacities, while the NPs will act as a delivery system, allowing for local action and controlling the release of the agent, helping to mitigate environmental contamination. Additionally, Dr Acebedo will derive NPs from biomass waste materials produced in the fishing industry, such as fish bones and mollusc shells, providing a sustainable solution for waste management and supporting the principles of the circular economy by effectively repurposing fishing industry waste and reducing the environmental impact.
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
00185 Roma
Italy
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.