Abstract
Novel nanomaterials and nanotechnology are rapidly entering almost every industry sector around the world. The surge in innovation is largely attributed to a steady increase in investments by government and private sectors in R&D for nanoscale science and nanotechnology. 1 In the December 2012 issue of Industrial Biotechnology, we touched on some of the novel applications of nanoscience and engineering in agriculture and food systems. In this issue, we introduce additional examples of nanotechnology applications for improving food nutritional value, safety assessments of nanoscale nutrient delivery systems, energy harvesting and conversion, enhancing livestock reproduction, and sensors and sensing technology.
Recently, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology delivered the Report to the President on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise, which lists the top seven scientific challenges facing agriculture: i) managing new pests, pathogens, and invasive plants; ii) increasing the efficiency of water use; iii) reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture; iv) growing food in a changing climate; v) accommodating bioenergy opportunities; vi) producing safe foods; and vii) addressing global food security and maintaining abundant yields. 2 We suggest that another important challenge is reducing the large amount of food waste that currently occurs in both developed and developing countries at various stages of the food chain. In each of these challenge areas, it is clearly evident from current R&D that nanoscale science and engineering can and will play an important role as a key driver in concert with biotechnology, information science, and the greater involvement of the cognitive and social sciences.
As suggested in the December 2012 issue of IB, nanoscale science and engineering can provide significant improvements in food packaging and safety and, ultimately, novel food ingredients, because nanotechnology can create new and different properties. We perceive the large number of potential areas of application to include: pathogen and contaminant detection, identity preservation and tracking, smart treatment delivery systems, smart systems integration for agriculture and food processing, nanodevices for molecular and cellular biology, nanoscale materials science and engineering to address environmental issues and agricultural waste, and many more.
Following up on the December 2012 IB IN DEPTH Special Research Section, in this issue we highlight an additional five projects focused on nanoscale science and engineering in agriculture and food systems. Simon and Sabliov present a review of the effects of (metal and metal oxide) nanoparticle toxicity by assessing the uptake of nanoparticles in major organs of rats and mice to determine relative nanoparticle clearance for assessment of safety of possible food nanodelivery systems. Sutovsky and Kennedy present a review of research on applications of nanotechnology to improve reproduction in dairy and beef animals. Specifically, they review recent progress in using biomarkers and nanoparticle-based technologies for fertility testing of bull semen. To create a more inexpensive and efficient detection method for Listeria monocytogenes in food samples compared to existing techniques, Davis, Guo, Musavi, Lin, Chen, and Wu have developed a biosensor strip using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Gunther, LeBlanc, Cliffel, and Jennings report on a unique system to integrate the solar energy conversion process Photosystem I (PSI) in Kudzu (Pueraria Iobata), a species of invasive plants, to create a “wet” photochemical cell. The authors report the success of PSI films from Kudzu deposited on boron-doped silicon to develop a photochemical current. The research from the Batt laboratory reported by Barahona, Bardliving, Phifer, Bruno, and Batt presents a new format of aptasensing composite particles for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy detection of the pesticide malathion. Micron-sized polymer particles were synthesized by polymerization and conjugated with colloidal AuNPs, creating an aptasensing microspheres system perceived to be well-suited for potential industrial applications.
Nanoscale science and nanotechnologies are envisioned to have the potential to revolutionize agriculture and food systems. 3 This view has been supported by many discoveries of novel properties of nanoscale biomaterials and ingenious engineering of them for innovative applications. For example, engineering of nucleotides, the basic units of the familiar DNA double helix, led to a variety of nanoscale building blocks, which include linear, branched/dendritic, and networked. Such versatile nanobiomaterials have been exploited for multiple diverse applications in nanotechnology, medicine, and biotechnology. 4 Several applications in sensors and detection, drug delivery, and protein production have been demonstrated and have attracted commercial interest. Direct solar energy conversion to electricity using the proteins responsible for photosynthesis in leafy plants is another example of a novel application, as demonstrated by Jennings' group at Vanderbilt University. This research, described in this issue of IB, can not only lead to a new portable solar power source, but also add value to agricultural production and products. As nanotechnology advances, one may imagine that agricultural crops may one day not only yield familiar products, but also new materials and devices by design. Indeed, a bright future is anticipated through exploration and exploitation of nanoscale studies of biological materials of agricultural and natural origin for the benefit of a sustainable society.