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Parisi, Claudia, Vigani, Mauro ORCID: 0000-0003-2442-7976 and Rodríguez-Cerezo, Emilio (2015) Agricultural Nanotechnologies: What are the current possibilities? Nano Today, 10 (2). pp. 124-127. doi:10.1016/j.nantod.2014.09.009
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2014.09.009DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2014.09.009EPrint URI: http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/2849
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This is the final accepted version of the following published document:
Parisi, Claudia and Vigani, Mauro and Rodríguez-
Cerezo, Emilio (2015). Agricultural
Nanotechnologies: What are the current
possibilities? Nano Today, 10 (2) 124-127. ISSN
17480132
Published in Nano Today, and available online at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1748013214001340
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Disclaimer
The University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title
in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material.
The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial
utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in
respect of any material deposited.
The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will
not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights.
The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual
property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view
pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement.
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1
*Title Page (including author details)
Nano Today - News and Opinions
Agricultural Nanotechnologies: what are the current
possibilities?
Claudia Parisi*1, Mauro Vigani
1, Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo
1
1
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies (IPTS). Edificio Expo, C/ Inca Garcilaso 3. 41092 Seville, Spain.
*Corresponding author: [email protected],
tel. +34 954 488 334,
fax +34 954 488 437
The views expressed are purely those of the authors and may not in any circumstances
be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.
*Graphical Abstract (for review)
Crop protection
• Plant protection products
• Fertilizers
Plant breeding
Plant genetic modification
Nanoparticles
from plants
Diagnostic: Nanosensors
• Plant health and growth
• Environment and soil
conditions
Water purification and
pollutant remediation
Soil improvement
Water/liquid retention
1
*Highlights (for review)
Research highlights
Nanotechnology is one of the six Key Enabling Technologies of the European
Commission for sustainable competitiveness and industrial growth.
Researchers are seeking in nanotechnology a new source of key improvements for the
agricultural sector.
Despite the potential advantages, applications in the agricultural sector have not yet
made it to the market.
Agricultural nanotechnologies did not demonstrate a sufficient economic return that
could counterbalance the high initial investments.
The way the regulation is designed is crucial, since it can affect products that are
already on the market from decades.
Public opinion towards nanotechnology is currently not negative and nanotech
products with clear benefits could drive consumer acceptance.
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*Manuscript
Click here to view linked References
Nano Today - News and Opinions 1
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3 Agricultural Nanotechnologies: what are the current
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6 possibilities? 8 9 1 1 1
10 Claudia Parisi* , Mauro Vigani , Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo 11
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European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Prospective 14 15 Technological Studies (IPTS). Edificio Expo, C/ Inca Garcilaso 3. 41092 Seville, Spain. 16
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22 *Corresponding author: [email protected],
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24 25 tel. +34 954 488 334, 26
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34 35 The views expressed are purely those of the authors and may not in any circumstances 36 37
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Abstract 1
2 Nanotechnology is recognised by the European Commission as a Key Enabling Technology 3 4
that contributes to sustainable competitiveness and growth in several industrial sectors. The
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7 current challenges of sustainability, food security and climate change are engaging 8 9
researchers in exploring the field of nanotechnology as new source of key improvements for 10
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12 the agricultural sector. However, concrete contributions are still uncertain. Despite the 13 14 numerous potential advantages of nanotechnology and the growing trends in publications and 15 16
17 patents, agricultural applications have not yet made it to the market. Several factors would 18 19 explain the scarcity of commercial applications. On the one hand, industry experts stress that 20 21
22 agricultural nanotechnology did not demonstrate a sufficient economic return to 23
24 counterbalance the high initial production investments. On the other hand, the new nanotech 25 26
regulation in the EU requires further discussion and agreement among parties that might
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29 create regulatory uncertainty for products already on the market and thereby affect public 30 31
perception. However, recent studies demonstrate that public opinion is not negative towards 32 33
34 nanotechnology and that the introduction on the market of nanotech products with clear 35 36 benefits will likely drive consumer acceptance of more sensitive applications. Additionally, 37 38
39 the rapid progress of nanotechnology in other key industries may over time be transferred to 40
41 agricultural applications as well, and facilitate their development. 42
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Main text 1
2 3 Nanotechnology is recognised by the European Commission as one of the six Key Enabling 4
5 Technologies that contribute to sustainable competitiveness and growth in several fields of
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8 industrial application [1]. The new chemical and/or physical properties of nano-scale particles 9 10
provide useful functions [2] that are being rapidly exploited in medicine, biotechnology,
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13 electronics, material science and energy sectors, among others. 14
15 16 These promising developments concern also the agricultural sector, in which continuous 17 18
19 innovation is strongly needed because of the arising global food security and climate change 20
21 challenges. In the past, agriculture benefited from several and different technological 22 23
innovations, like hybrid varieties, synthetic chemicals and biotechnology, and researchers are
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26 now seeking in nanotechnology a new source of key agricultural improvements. However, 27 28
while the food industry is showing to be clearly benefited from nanotechnology (in particular 29
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31 for food processing, distribution, packaging and functional food), its real contribution to the 32 33 agricultural sector is still uncertain. 34
35 36
According to leading R&D analyses1, research on agricultural nanotechnology applications is
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39 ongoing for largely a decade by now, searching for solutions to several agricultural and 40 41
environmental challenges, such as sustainability, improved varieties and increased
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44 productivity. Several authors show the growing trend of both scientific publications and 45 46
patents in agricultural nanotechnology, especially for disease management and crop 47 48
49 protection [3-5]. Nanomaterials in agriculture aims in particular to reduce the amount of 50
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52 1 The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European
53 Commission (EC) organised a Workshop in November 2013 aiming to reveal the actual contribution of 54 nanotechnology to the agricultural sector. The workshop focused on reviewing the state-of-the-art of R&D of
55 agricultural nanotechnology, discussing current and potential markets of nano-products with applications in crop
56 production and reviewing the regulations concerned by agricultural nanotechnologies applications. Leading
57 scientists, experts, regulators and representatives of the farming and industrial sectors actively participated at the 58 workshop, to present research and industry results and discuss experiences. Full proceedings of the workshop
59 have been released electronically: JRC report, EUR 26625 EN – 2014.
60 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/111111111/31846).
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sprayed chemical products by smart delivery of active ingredients, minimize nutrient losses 1 2 in fertilization [4] and increase yields through optimized water and nutrient management. 3 4
5 Nanotechnology derived devices are also explored in the field of plant breeding and genetic 6
7 transformation [6]. Additionally, agriculture can be a source of bio-nanocomposites with 8 9
enhanced physical-mechanical properties that can be extracted from traditionally harvested
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12 materials, like wheat straw and soy hulls, for bio-industrial purposes [7]. Table 1 provides an 13 14
overview of the most relevant agricultural nanotechnology applications.
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18 Despite these potential advantages, nanotechnology applications in the agricultural sector are 19 20 still comparably marginal and have not yet made it to the market to any larger extent in 21 22
23 comparison with other industrial sectors. The wave of research discoveries seems to be 24 25 mainly claimed by the academic world or small enterprises, while big industries reveal a 26 27
large patent ownership. The trends of patent applications (mainly from agro-chemical
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30 companies) are continuously growing, but no new nano-based products for the agricultural 31 32
sector have reached the market. This suggests that applicants are actively patenting and 33 34
35 keeping broad patent claims in order to assure future freedom to operate and to guarantee 36 37 future exploitation in case of promising commercial developments. 38
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40 Large companies are investigating the potential that nanotech solutions offer in the
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43 agricultural field. However, according to industry experts, agricultural nanotechnologies so 44 45
far did not demonstrate a sufficiently high economic interest. Nanotech products require high
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48 initial investments that can be counterbalanced only by large-scale field uses, which is 49 50
currently not the case. Among the reasons of the difficulties of agricultural nanotechnologies 51 52
53 developments at field level, industrial organizations address regulatory issues and public 54
55 opinion.
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One of the main aspects of regulating nano-materials is the achievement of a definition 1 2 agreed among parties and, possibly, harmonized at international level. The definition of nano- 3 4
5 materials seems not to be straightforward and is not just a matter of size as such. The nano- 6
7 size can be applied to one or more dimensions and the form of the particles can be in 8 9
aggregate, agglomerates or nanostructured materials. Moreover, since nanotechnology is
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12 applied in different industrial sectors, different regulatory bodies and pieces of regulations are 13 14
involved for its safety assessment.
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18 Many countries are now setting definitions and regulatory frameworks for nanotechnology 19 20 [8]. In the EU, the main horizontal regulation covering nanotechnology applications is the 21 22
23 REACH (EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of 24 25 Chemicals) [9], and there is an ongoing discussion on the definition, which covers 26 27
nanoparticles in aggregates and agglomerates in the size range of 1-100 nm [10]. The current
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30 EC definition does not make the distinction between products that are intentionally 31 32
manufactured to contain nano-scale materials, from those which contain particles that 33 34
35 involuntary fall under the EC nano-definition and that are already in the market since 36 37 decades. The proposed definition will be reviewed in the light of new experience and of 38 39
40 scientific and technological developments. 41
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43 Industry organisations have pointed to the effects that regulation, especially on labelling, can 44 45
have on public opinion and the negative perception that this can create about a new
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48 technology. There is concern that consumers may reject products labelled as nano-products 49 50
and this rejection might have also a retroactive effect, concerning products (i.e. nano-scale 51 52
53 formulants such as clay, silica etc.) already present on the market for decades that 54
55 involuntarily contain nano-size materials and that might fall under the nano-definition.
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However, some studies on consumer preferences demonstrate that overall public opinion is 1 2 not negative towards nanotechnology [11] and that it is particularly influenced by perceived 3 4
5 benefits and usefulness of the technology. The results of the studies suggest that nanotech 6
7 products with clear benefits and acceptable/low risks for the consumers, like medical and 8 9
environmental applications, if introduced first into the market, could drive the acceptance of
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12 other applications to be introduced later on, e.g. pesticides solutions, which is an area where 13 14
societal concerns already exists.
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18 In conclusion, agro-nanotech innovative products are presenting difficulties in reaching the 19 20 market, making agriculture still a marginal sector for nanotechnology. This is due in 21 22
23 particular to the high production costs of large amounts of nanotech products, as required in 24 25 the agricultural sector, unclear technical benefits on a large scale and legislative uncertainties, 26 27
which can also influence public opinion. Nevertheless, the R&D landscape is very promising
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30 and is actively exploring the possibilities offered by nanotechnology in several agricultural 31 32
applications. Additionally, nanotechnology is progressing at rapid pace in other fields. The 33 34
35 knowledge gained in emerging key sectors, such as energy and packaging, may over time be 36 37 transferred, or may provide spill-overs, to agricultural applications as well. For instance, 38 39
40 improved fuel additives and lubricants can improve the performance and the carbon footprint 41 42 of agricultural machineries and improved packaging measures can benefit farmers in 43 44
reducing the degradation of the products before commercialisation. Also progress in
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47 environmental monitoring and drug delivery techniques [12] can positively affect the 48 49
agricultural and livestock sector indirectly.
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References 1
2 3 [1] EC, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 4 European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. ‘A European 5 strategy for Key Enabling Technologies - A bridge to growth and jobs’. http://eur-
7 lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0341:FIN:EN:PDF (2012). 8
9 [2] ObservatoryNANO FP7, European nanotechnology landscape report. 10 http://www.scor.com/en/sgrc/pac/motor/item/1327-european-nanotechnology-landscape- 11 report.html (2011).
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14 [3] R.K. Sastry, H.B. Rashmi, N.H. Rao, J. Intellect. Prop. Rights, 15 (2010) 197-205. 15
16 [4] A. Gogos, K. Knauer, T.D. Bucheli, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60 17 (2012) 9781-9792. 18 19
[5] ObservatoryNANO, Briefing No. 20. Statistical Patent Analysis. Patents: an indicator of
21 nanotechnology innovation. 22 http://www.nanopinion.eu/sites/default/files/briefing_no.20_patents_- 23 _an_indicator_of_nanotechnology_innovation.pdf. (2011). 24 25
[6] F. Torney, B.G. Trewyn, V.S.Y. Lin, K. Wang, Nat. Nanotechnol., 2 (2007) 295-300.
27
28 [7] A. Alemdar, M. Sain, Bioresource Technology, 99 (2008) 1664-1671. 29 30 [8] FAO/WHO, State of the art on the initiatives and activities relevant to risk assessment and 31 risk management of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors. FAO/WHO 32 technical paper. http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3281e/i3281e.pdf (2013).
34
35 [9] EC, Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 36 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of 37 Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency. Official Journal of the 38
European Union, 396 (2006) 1-849. 39 40
41 [10] EC, Commission Recommendation of 18 October 2011 on the definition of 42 nanomaterial. http://eur-
43 lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:275:0038:0040:EN:PDF Official
44 Journal of the European Union, L 275 (2011) 38-40. 45 46
47 [11] N. Gupta, A.H. Fischer, S. George, L. Frewer, J. Nanopart. Res., 15 (2013) 1-15. 48
49 [12] H.C. Chen, M.C. Roco, J.B. Son, S. Jiang, C.A. Larson, Q. Gao, J. Nanopart. Res., 15 50 (2013). 51
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Table
Table 1. Relevant applications in agricultural nanotechnology and examples of
succesfull applications at small scale or R&D stage
CROP PRODUCTION
Definition Example Reference Plant protection products
Nanocapsules, nanoparticles, nanoemulsions and viral capsids as smart delivery systems of active ingredients for disease and pest control in plants
Neem oil (Azadirachta indica) nanoemulsion as larvicidal agent (VIT University, IN)
Anjali, C. H., Sharma, Y., Mukherjee, A. & Chandrasekaran, N. Pest Management Science 68, 158-163 (2012)
Fertilizers Nanocapsules, nanoparticles and viral capsids for the enhancement of nutrients absorption by plants and the delivery of nutrients to specific sites
Macronutrient Fertilizers Coated with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
(University of Adelaide, AU CSIRO Land and Water, AU Kansas State University, US)
Milani, N. et al. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60, 3991-3998 (2012).
SOIL IMPROVEMENT Water/liquid retention
Nanomaterials, e.g. zeolites and nano-clays, for water or liquid agrochemicals retention in the soil for their slow release to the plants
Soil-enhancer product, based on a nano-clay component, for water retention and release (Geohumus-Frankfurt, DE)
http://www.geohu mus.com/us/produc ts.html
WATER PURIFICATION
Water purification and pollutant remediation
Nanomaterials, e.g. nano-clays, filtering and binding to a variety of toxic substances, including pesticides, to be removed from the environment
Filters coated with TiO2 nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of agrochemicals in contaminated waters (University of Ulster, UK)
McMurray, T. A., Dunlop, P. S. M. & Byrne, J. A. J. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A- Chemistry 182, 43- 51 (2006).
DIAGNOSTIC
Nanosensors Nanomaterials and nanostructures Pesticide detection with a Vamvakaki, V. & and diagnostic (e.g. electrochemically active liposome-based nano- Chaniotakis, N. A. devices carbon nanotubes, nanofibers and biosensor (University of Crete, Biosensors &
fullerenes) that are highly sensitive GR) Bioelectronics 22,
bio-chemical sensors to closely 2848-2853 (2007).
monitor environmental conditions, plant health and growth
PLANT BREEDING Plant genetic Nanoparticles carrying DNA or RNA Mesoporus silica Torney, F., Trewyn, modification to be delivered to plant cells for nanoparticles transporting B. G., Lin, V. S. Y. &
their genetic transformation or to DNA to transform plant cells Wang, K. Nature
trigger defence responses, (Iowa State university, US) Nanotechnology 2,
activated by pathogens. 295-300 (2007).
NANOMATERIALS FROM PLANT
2
Nanoparticles from plants
Production of nanomaterials through the use of engineered plants or microbes and through the processing of waste agricultural products
Nanofibres from wheat straw and soy hulls for bio- nanocomposite production (Canadian Universities and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, CA)
Alemdar, A. & Sain, M. Bioresource Technology 99, 1664-1671 (2008).
1
Author Biographies
Authors' biographies
Claudia Parisi is Research Fellow at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European
Commission, at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) located in Seville-
Spain. She is Biotechnologist and obtained her Ph.D. on New Plant Breeding Techniques at
the University of Córdoba, Spain. Before joining the JRC, she followed internship
programmes in FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), in Rome, and EFSA (European
Food Safety Authority), in Parma, Italy. She is currently dealing with research projects on
emerging techniques in agriculture, including nanotechnology, and on the monitoring of the
bio-based industry.
Mauro Vigani, is Research Fellow at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European
Commission, at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) located in Seville-
Spain. He got his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Milan, where he
spent two years as post-doctorate at the Department of Economics, Management and
Quantitative Methods. He has publications on international journals on topics such as the
political economy of GMOs standards, GMOs patenting and agricultural labour market. He
2
participated in European research framework projects and in several international
conferences. His current research activity concerns the socio-economic impact of agricultural
innovations (GM crops, nanotechnology, microalgae-based food and feed), farm productivity
and risk management practices.
Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo obtained a degree in Agronomy (1983) and a Ph.D. in Plant
Pathology (1988) from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). He started his career as
researcher on biotech-based plant resistance to viral diseases and molecular epidemiology of
disease outbreaks in crop plants. In 1997, he became active in the interface between
biotechnology and regulation after being elected member of the first European Union's
Scientific Committee for Plants (the embryo of what later became EFSA) in charge of risk
assessment of GMOs. In 2001 he joined the European Commission's (EC) Joint Research
Centre (JRC), the in-house scientific advisory body of the EC, at the Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies (IPTS) located in Seville-Spain. Since then he has led a group of
researchers providing policy support to policy makers in the fields of new biotechnologies in
agriculture, coexistence between GM and non-GM agricultural production, and the social and
economic impacts of biotech crops and the characterization of the EU bioeconomy.
