Third Day Poster Session, 17 June 2010 - NanoTR-VI

Poster Session, Thursday, June 17
Theme F686 - N1123
Nanotechnology Applications in Agriculture
A. Ahmet Yücer 1* , Ö. Faruk Sarıoğlu 2 and Turgay Tekinay 2
1 Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Research General Directorate, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey
2 UNAM – Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, Turkey
Abstract— Nanotechnology is having an impact on many different fields. With increasing population and dwindling
resources, it is certain that novel approaches for food and agriculture are required. There is ongoing research in applications of
nanotechnology in food industry and agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Turkey started research and
education collaborations with universities to be on the frontiers of agricultural nanotechnology field.
World population increasing and there is a need to get
products cheaply and through sustainable methods. There is an
ongoing effort to get better products through novel
developments in food industry and agriculture. New
developments in nanotechnology are expected to have impact
in food industry and agriculture [1,2]. Basic areas in these
fields that nanotechnology could have an impact are:
− Pathogen and Contaminant Detection
− Tracking & Food Security
− Increasing Efficiency in Agriculture
− Environmental Issues and Agricultural Waste
Some solutions to problems in these areas are:
Nanosensors for Pathogen and Contaminant Detection
There have been different techniques to detect pathogens
and contaminants in food, animals and agricultural products.
Pathogen contamination in these products often leads to health
problems during consumption and economic problems due to
loss of the products. Bacteria and virus contamination usually
results in illness and sometimes fatality. The most likely area
that nanotechnology will have a revolutionary impact is
analysis and detection of contamination [3]. Use of
nanobiosensors to detect the health of agricultural products
and livestock and surface and airborne pathogens would be
immensely helpful in the field. It is expected that these
nanosensors would be cheaper and give quick results. This
would facilitate their use in the fields, since they would not
require expensive laboratory infrastructure.
Nanosensors and Nanomaterials for Food Security
A very important application of nanotechnology would be
tracking of agricultural products and food security. Through
design and use of novel systems, individual shipments could
be tracked. New sensors could be developed that would show
changes in temperature or humidity. Also, packaging materials
could be changed so there would be no pathogen adhesion,
which lowers the risk for contamination.
Through development of novel nanomaterials more
effective and biodegradable chemicals could be synthesized.
These nanomaterials could be used during food preparation
and conservation and also could be used in the packaging
[4,5].
Automation using nanoelectronics and nanosensors is
important to increase efficiency in agriculture. Using data
gathered from nanosensors and nanodevices, there would be
better management and less use of drugs, fertilizers, and water
[6].
Nanomaterials for Environmental Issues
Use of nanotechnology in these areas could be nanoscalebased
chemical treatment, bio-nanomechanical systems, and
nanofiltration [7].
To be in the frontiers of agri-nanotechnology more
information exchange is needed between scientists in the
academia, scientists in the Ministry and policy specialists.
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is starting to
collaborate with universities to educate the research personnel
and direct research towards nanotechnology. First of such
collaborations are being done with Bilkent University,
UNAM.
*Corresponding author: ayucer@tagem.gov.tr
[1] Kuzma and VerHage, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies,
Nanotechnology in Agriculture & Food Production (2006).
[2] Scott, Chen, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension
Service, Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food
Systems, (2003)
[3] Skottrup et al., Biosen Bioel. 24, 339 (2008)
[4] Joseph and Morrison, Nanoforum Gateway, Nanotechnology in
Agriculture and Food, (2006).
[5] ElAmin. www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?id=72022, (2007)
[6] Kim et al., J Env Mon, 11(10), 1810 (2009).
[7] AzoNano. http://www.azonano.com/details.
asp?ArticleID=114 (accessed 24 March 2010), (2007)
Nanodevices for Smart Treatment Delivery Systems and
Sensitive Agriculture
6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Conference, zmir, 2010 797