Designing Efficient Water-Based Nanopesticides for Sustainable Agriculture

Pesticides are vital for global food productivity. Traditional formulations pose environmental risks due to their heavy reliance on organic solvents and surfactants. Nanopesticide formulations (NPF) offer safer, eco-friendly alternatives but are often costly and complex. The ENASA project aims to simplify this by developing pure water-based nanopesticide formulations (PW-NPF) that are free of organic solvents and use minimal surfactants for plant production. To achieve this goal, researchers will undergo secondment at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) for training in molecular dynamics simulation to aid in designing amphiphilic water-soluble surfactants for constructing PW-NPT. Subsequently, a secondment at NovaMechanics Ltd (NovaM) will use computational modeling to establish relationships between surfactant configurations and pesticide structures, enabling the prediction of structure-activity relationships and broader applications. This project has the potential to unlock the application of many pesticide varieties through formulation innovation, especially considering the high costs of developing new pesticides today. Additionally, it represents a crucial step for the fellow, who is in the early stages of his career, on his path to becoming an excellent researcher in the field of nano-agrochemicals.