Study of the interaction of pesticides and nanopesticides with soil

• Grant number: 19/14829-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Fernandes Fraceto
• Grantee: Mariana Monteiro de Lima Honorato Forini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/21004-5 - Agriculture, micro/nanotechnology and environment: from evaluation of the mechanisms of action to studies of transport and toxicity, AP.TEM

Abstract

Agricultural production systems employ large quantities of pesticides to increase the amount and quality of agricultural products. Brazil has become one of the largest consumers of pesticides in the world and, although it has an essential role in agricultural productivity, such compounds are present in alarming amounts in surface and underground water. By the way, some pesticides can have severe environmental impacts. Several mechanisms are being studied to minimize these damages, such as the development of modified release systems using biodegradable nanocarriers. Such systems (as also called nanopesticides) present promising results to the increase in performance/efficiency of agrochemicals. Although there are already some nanopesticides on the market, the study of the fate of these systems in the environment is still scarce. In this sense, the present project aims to study the interaction of pesticides or biocides associated or not with nanocarreadores in different soils, through kinetic tests of sorption and degradation. With this proposal, we intend to compare the fate of conventional and nanopesticide formulation in the soil. Also, it is believed that this project can bring significant advances to the understanding of the fate of pesticides and nanopesticides in the soil, as well as contribute to the development of new techniques and methodologies for the study of these systems in the environment.