Bioproduction of zinc oxide nanoparticles with potential application in agriculture using a fixed bed reactor packed with fungal biocatalyst immobilized on a porous support

• Grant number: 24/20126-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Angélica Ottoni
• Grantee: Arthur Pérez Aguiar
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) aims to minimize the use of reagents and processes that are toxic to the environment and human health. Studies associated with the use of biogenic zinc oxide NPs (ZnONPs) in agricultural practices describe these NPs as promising nanotools for increasing production yield and reducing the use of agrochemicals. Among the different organisms capable of biosynthesizing ZnONPs, filamentous fungi (Ff) stand out for their economic viability, ease of handling, and rapid production of biomass for large-scale processing. However, the process of synthesis of mycogenic ZnONPs in continuous mode requires implementations that include a better understanding of the influence of abiotic parameters. The optimization of these parameters is essential for better control over the size, shape, and monodispersity of ZnONPs. In this sense, the present study aims to produce ZnONPs using a fixed bed reactor (PBR) packed with fungal biomass immobilized on a macroporous polylactic acid (PLA) support operated in continuous mode and evaluate its applicability in agriculture. To achieve this objective, studies associated with the implementation of the synthesis process using a fixed bed reactor (PBR) will be carried out evaluating the parameters fixed bed height (¼, ½ and ¾), reaction temperature (20ºC, 25ºC and 30ºC) and volumetric feed flow rate (5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20 mL/min). The activity of ZnONPs against phytopathogenic fungi and their effects on increasing tolerance to abiotic stresses "nanopriming technique" in rice plants will also be studied. (AU)