Nanodesign: study uses own plant to combat weeds in the field

A new working logic can change product formulations that combat weeds in Brazilian territory. Still in the conceptualization and database formation phase, a group of researchers from the interior of São Paulo dared to propose a new concept for the development of nanoherbicides, nanodesign.

Led by professor Leonardo Fraceto, coordinator of INCT (National Institute of Science and Technology in Nanotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture), postgraduate students got the attention of the British Nature, one of the most respected science publications in the world.

The study is based on a change in logic: instead of just looking at particles and chemical formulations, researchers began to observe the morphological characteristics of the weed plants themselves to design more efficient and specific solutions.

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"What we are doing now is starting to look at the plant as a possible development material", says Fraceto. With scientific dissemination, the study's first observations should attract global attention and, now, the desire is to structure the next steps in particle nanodesign.

In a scenario of increasing resistance of weeds to traditional herbicides and the search for more sustainable solutions in the field, nanotechnology applied to agriculture is emerging as one of the most promising fronts for the development of new inputs, highlights Fraceto in an interview with CNN Agro.

Today, however, one of the main limits of this segment is precisely the way these technologies are designed.

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Traditionally, the development of nanoformulations follows a logic centered on the material that will serve as a combat asset. On the other hand, what researchers are doing is designing nanoparticles based on physicochemical properties and then testing their performance in plants to assess efficiency.

Although this model has driven important advances, it still relies heavily on trial and error, with low predictability regarding how these structures will behave within the plant organism, recalls Fraceto.

The proposal led by the INCT coordinator seeks to reverse the dynamic. Instead of starting with the nanoparticle, the concept starts from the morphology of the plant as a central reference in the product design process.

"This involves understanding, in a deeper way, how plants absorb substances, which natural barriers interfere with the entry of compounds, how internal transport of molecules occurs and how different plant tissues interact with nanoscale particles", explains the researcher.

He gives examples of investigations that the research group began to carry out, such as monitoring the thickness of the leaves, the presence of stomata - which works like the epidermis of the leaf, through which active ingredients and nutrients are absorbed - and other plant structures that can directly interfere with the absorption of herbicides.

Fraceto details that the group has around 20 years of experience in developing herbicides with nanotechnology for agriculture, but that this is the first time that the morphological characteristics of plants have played a central role in the construction of formulations.

The bet for the future is also to develop nanomaterials with reduced dosages for crops.

A kind of tailored treatment.

Power of plant biology
By placing plant biology at the center of development, the so-called "plant-informed nanodesign" proposes a paradigm shift: the plant is no longer just the final target of technology and is now understood as an active system that determines the success of the formulation.

In practice, this can pave the way for more precise products, with greater delivery efficiency to the site of action, less waste of inputs and potential reduction of environmental impacts and effects on agricultural crops, emphasizes the researcher.

The study was conducted entirely by Brazilian researchers, including post-doctoral fellows also linked to startups interested in transforming scientific knowledge into future commercial products.

The idea, now, is to create categories of weeds based on their morphological characteristics and relate them to more efficient nanostructured formulations for each group.

This could allow for everything from more precise composition recommendations to the development of personalized herbicides for certain types of infestation.

As a next step, the group intends to build a database with morphological information on different weeds found in Brazil. In parallel, researchers work with different compositions of nanoparticles.

The proposal is to cross-reference this information into models capable of indicating which formulation design would be most efficient for each species.

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This approach also brings technological development closer to a more predictive logic in agribusiness, in which the behavior of nanostructures can be anticipated based on morphological characteristics of plants, reducing dependence on extensive empirical tests.

Fraceto compares the concept to personalized medicine used in specialized medical treatments. "Today, we often use similar protocols for different problems. The idea is to move towards more specific formulations, designed for a given biological target", he states.

The researcher assesses that, in the future, the technology could converge with precision agriculture systems and automated tools for identifying weeds in the field. According to him, there are already machines and robots operating in Brazil capable of recognizing different species during application.

One of the examples cited is the spread of the "giant pigweed" in the south of the country, considered a health problem as it presents increasing resistance to available herbicides. The weed is considered highly aggressive, especially for soybeans and has high resistance to agricultural pesticides.

As it is recognized as a resistant invasive plant, understanding its morphology in depth could pave the way for the development of more targeted and efficient formulations, emphasizes the researcher.

Until the database advances and nanoproducts are formulated, Fraceto's expectation is to accelerate the construction of Brazilian reference research so that it reaches the field with scientific validation in the coming years.

For him, the concept can redefine the way we think about innovation in agricultural pesticides and open up future possibilities not only for herbicides, but also for other applications of nanotechnology in agriculture.

Source: CNN