Cancer nanotech nurtures sustainable agriculture innovation
Cancer drugs and agrichemicals can be powerful, but toxic, tools. Now, UNSW scientists are applying nanomedicine insights in a project to make greener agrichemicals more affordable.
Dr. Cong Vu, Adjunct Fellow at UNSW’s School of Chemistry, outlined his research in a recent article exploring how the principles of nanoparticle design—originally developed to fight cancer—can be applied to agriculture.
In the article published in Nature Communications, Dr. Vu explains how design principles from nanomedicine, such as altering the size, surface, and material of nanoparticles that encapsulate cancer drugs, could be used to target and deliver agrichemicals to plants more effectively.
Dr. Vu, who is also the founder of the UNSW agrichemicals startup, NanoSoils Bio, says the ultimate goal is to create nanotechnology products that improve pesticide and fungicide delivery, promoting cleaner and more sustainable agriculture.
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