Photonic crystals in biology - NanoTR-VI

Poster Session, Thursday, June 17Theme F686 - N1123Nanotechnology Applications in AgricultureA. Ahmet Yücer 1* , Ö. Faruk Sarıoğlu 2 and Turgay Tekinay 21 Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Research General Directorate, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey2 UNAM – Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800, TurkeyAbstract— Nanotechnology is having an impact on many different fields. With increasing population and dwindlingresources, it is certain that novel approaches for food and agriculture are required. There is ongoing research in applications ofnanotechnology in food industry and agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Turkey started research andeducation collaborations with universities to be on the frontiers of agricultural nanotechnology field.World population increasing and there is a need to getproducts cheaply and through sustainable methods. There is anongoing effort to get better products through noveldevelopments in food industry and agriculture. Newdevelopments in nanotechnology are expected to have impactin food industry and agriculture [1,2]. Basic areas in thesefields that nanotechnology could have an impact are:− Pathogen and Contaminant Detection− Tracking & Food Security− Increasing Efficiency in Agriculture− Environmental Issues and Agricultural WasteSome solutions to problems in these areas are:Nanosensors for Pathogen and Contaminant DetectionThere have been different techniques to detect pathogensand contaminants in food, animals and agricultural products.Pathogen contamination in these products often leads to healthproblems during consumption and economic problems due toloss of the products. Bacteria and virus contamination usuallyresults in illness and sometimes fatality. The most likely areathat nanotechnology will have a revolutionary impact isanalysis and detection of contamination [3]. Use ofnanobiosensors to detect the health of agricultural productsand livestock and surface and airborne pathogens would beimmensely helpful in the field. It is expected that thesenanosensors would be cheaper and give quick results. Thiswould facilitate their use in the fields, since they would notrequire expensive laboratory infrastructure.Nanosensors and Nanomaterials for Food SecurityA very important application of nanotechnology would betracking of agricultural products and food security. Throughdesign and use of novel systems, individual shipments couldbe tracked. New sensors could be developed that would showchanges in temperature or humidity. Also, packaging materialscould be changed so there would be no pathogen adhesion,which lowers the risk for contamination.Through development of novel nanomaterials moreeffective and biodegradable chemicals could be synthesized.These nanomaterials could be used during food preparationand conservation and also could be used in the packaging[4,5].Automation using nanoelectronics and nanosensors isimportant to increase efficiency in agriculture. Using datagathered from nanosensors and nanodevices, there would bebetter management and less use of drugs, fertilizers, and water[6].Nanomaterials for Environmental IssuesUse of nanotechnology in these areas could be nanoscalebasedchemical treatment, bio-nanomechanical systems, andnanofiltration [7].To be in the frontiers of agri-nanotechnology moreinformation exchange is needed between scientists in theacademia, scientists in the Ministry and policy specialists.Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is starting tocollaborate with universities to educate the research personneland direct research towards nanotechnology. First of suchcollaborations 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 ExtensionService, Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and FoodSystems, (2003)[3] Skottrup et al., Biosen Bioel. 24, 339 (2008)[4] Joseph and Morrison, Nanoforum Gateway, Nanotechnology inAgriculture 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 andSensitive Agriculture6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Conference, zmir, 2010 797