Material scientist Katya Pérez and plant scientist Yağız Alagöz collaborated to develop new smart materials to improve precision micronutrient delivery to crops. © 2023 KAUST.

Using nanotechnology for controlled delivery of biostimulants and micronutrients to crops could improve performance and nutritional value.

Improvements in crop productivity and nutritional value are needed to meet increased global demand for food in terms of both quantity and quality. A strategy being investigated by KAUST researchers to address the issue is the controlled delivery of bioactive molecules, such as growth-stimulating compounds and micronutrients that can be stored in fruits or grains to stimulate stress tolerance and enhance crop yield and resistance to pathogens.

“There is a clear demand to develop smart platforms for the precise and controlled delivery of agrochemicals,” says KAUST plant scientist Salim Al-Babili.

The team performed a small-scale field trial on the vegetable capsicum to assess the growth-promoting efficiency of their zin-containing complex under field conditions. © 2023 KAUST.

“As well as the encapsulation of fertilizers, there is also a need to encapsulate and deliver minerals that act as human micronutrients, such as zinc, to improve the nutritional value of crops.”

A cross-disciplinary team, led by Ph.D. student Katya Perez and postdoc Yagiz Alagoz, has developed a new formulation for the smart delivery of a synthetic mimic of the growth regulator zaxinone (MiZax-3), which promotes plant growth with proven growth stimulant activity.

Biomimetic mineralization using zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) is a widely used method for encapsulating a range of chemicals, from small hydrophobic molecules to large hydrophilic proteins.

“Over the past decade, we have developed a range of stimuli-responsive platforms that can encapsulate an impressive variety of cargo, ranging from neutral small chemicals to charged high-molecular-weight biologics,” says Khashab.

Read more at KAUST Discovery.