Liang Xu1,2,3, Zhiwei Zhu1,2,3, Da-Wen Sun1,2,3,4. 1. School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China. 2. Academy of Contemporary Food Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China. 3. Engineering and Technological Research Centre of Guangdong Province on Intelligent Sensing and Process Control of Cold Chain Foods, & Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics Equipment for Agricultural Products, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China. 4. Food Refrigeration and Computerized Food Technology (FRCFT), Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Abstract
Agrochemicals have supported the development of the agricultural economy and national population over the past century. However, excessive applications of agrochemicals pose threats to the environment and human health. In the last decades, nanoparticles (NPs) have been a hot topic in many fields, especially in agriculture, because of their physicochemical properties. Nevertheless, the prevalent methods for fabricating NPs are uneconomical and involve toxic reagents, hindering their extensive applications in the agricultural sector. In contrast, inspired by biological exemplifications from microbes and plants, their extract and biomass can act as a reducing and capping agent to form NPs without any toxic reagents. NPs synthesized through these bioinspired routes are cost-effective, ecofriendly, and high performing. With the development of nanotechnology, biosynthetic NPs (bioNPs) have been proven to be a substitute strategy for agrochemicals and traditional NPs in heavy-metal remediation of soil, promotion of plant growth, and management of plant disease with less toxicity and higher performance. Therefore, bioinspired synthesis of NPs will be an inevitable trend for sustainable development in agricultural fields. This critical review will demonstrate the bioinspired synthesis of NPs and discuss the influence of bioNPs on agricultural soil, crop growth, and crop diseases compared to chemical NPs or agrochemicals.
Agrochemicals have supn>ported the development of the agrin>an class="Chemical">cultural economy and national population over the past century. However, excessive applications of agrochemicals pose threats to the environment and human health. In the last decades, nanoparticles (NPs) have been a hot topic in many fields, especially in agriculture, because of their physicochemical properties. Nevertheless, the prevalent methods for fabricating NPs are uneconomical and involve toxic reagents, hindering their extensive applications in the agricultural sector. In contrast, inspired by biological exemplifications from microbes and plants, their extract and biomass can act as a reducing and capping agent to form NPs without any toxic reagents. NPs synthesized through these bioinspired routes are cost-effective, ecofriendly, and high performing. With the development of nanotechnology, biosynthetic NPs (bioNPs) have been proven to be a substitute strategy for agrochemicals and traditional NPs in heavy-metal remediation of soil, promotion of plant growth, and management of plant disease with less toxicity and higher performance. Therefore, bioinspired synthesis of NPs will be an inevitable trend for sustainable development in agricultural fields. This critical review will demonstrate the bioinspired synthesis of NPs and discuss the influence of bioNPs on agricultural soil, crop growth, and crop diseases compared to chemical NPs or agrochemicals.