Targeted Delivery of Nanopesticides

Nanobiotechnology with extensive applications in ecological sustainability has been emerging as an integrated approach for supporting the agro-economy and ecosystem service providers. The synthesis of nanoparticulate material species using living organisms like bacteria, fungi, and plant extracts and their metabolites has already been demonstrated and reported. Biogenic NPs being green alternative to the existing chemical methods of nanoparticulate syntheses that are toxic and energy-intensive with hazardous byproducts that damage the environment. Biosynthesized nanoparticles, on the other hand, are biocompatible, highly reproducible, have lower polydispersity, and are simple to scale up for commercial use. The biological NP-syntheses are comparable to other existing physical or chemical methods. Microorganisms, with their inherent properties to remediate and reduce heavy metals via numerous reductase enzymes, have the potential to act as nano-bio-factories for synthesizing metallic bio-NPs. Over the years, interest has moved from inorganic to biogenic NPs in the form of nanocomposites. Nano-agrochemicals employing biogenic delivery frameworks compete well in terms of environmental sustainability but often do not compete economically with other agrochemicals. Investigations are therefore becoming necessary to determine whether these nanoproducts could compete with the existing chemical formulations in terms of performance and cost. The biosynthesis of NPs can be broadly classified into two categories: intracellular and extracellular.