Essential oils carried by silica nanoparticles to combat pathogens and pests

• Grant number: 24/12652-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Support Program for Fixating Young Doctors
• Start date until: August 01, 2024
• End date until: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Agreement: CNPq
• Principal Investigator: Renata de Lima
• Grantee: Liliam Katsue Harada Rocha
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação, Pesquisa, Extensão e Inovação. Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/01693-4 - Essential oils carried by silica nanoparticles to combat pathogens and pests., AP.R

Abstract

The need for sustainable agriculture that does not harm the environment is among the challenges of full sustainable development (SDG-(2)) through adopting the 2030 agenda. Also, at COP28 (28th United Nations Climate Conference), guidelines were discussed about agriculture, where the need for "implementing integrated and multisectoral solutions, such as land use management, sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches" was mentioned, which makes it clear that there is the need to make better use of land. Therefore, studies that collaborate with agricultural productivity involve new technologies that consider the reduction of environmental impact and result in the development of sustainable and less harmful products and processes that have aroused great interest and have become a possibility in recent years. Using resources from agricultural waste, transforming them into value-added bio inputs and using bioactive contributes to developing more sustainable agriculture. Among the countless possibilities, nanotechnology is a promising technology, especially in biogenic synthesis that uses agricultural waste as a substrate. The use of bioactives, such as essential oils, also appears as an excellent pest control alternative, offering greater safety and biocompatibility compared to pesticides. However, applying essential oils has some limiting factors, such as high volatility, instability and low solubility in water, with encapsulation being an alternative to solving these problems. Based on this, this proposal aims to develop a suspension formed by silica nanoparticles from green synthesis from rice husk, containing essential oils and lignin as a stabilising agent, as it is believed that silica nanoparticles are capable of protecting critical oils, allowing to control their volatility, meeting the needs considered essential for the global action plan for sustainable development, as it is a project that uses biomass produced by agricultural systems, improves processes involving microorganisms and biotechnology to resolve bed bug infestation problem. (AU)