EcoPDI · Earth-abundant metal-containing photosensitizers for sustainable photodynamic inactivation in plant protection and food safety
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31
- EU contribution
- €195,915
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Earth-abundant metal-containing photosensitizers for sustainable photodynamic inactivation in plant protection and food safety
Global food insecurity is one of the current urgent problems, since around 343 million people are now facing high levels of it, notably in Gaza and Sudan, but also in pockets of South Sudan, Haiti and Mali. In addition, agriculture is increasingly under pressure to reduce pesticide use, ensure food safety and protect the environment. To face these challenges, the EcoPDI project aimed to create a new and sustainable antimicrobial approach based on photodynamic inactivation (PDI). PDI is a light-based disinfectant method that uses a compound called photosensitizer (PS) to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species can destroy harmful pathogens without being toxic to the plant. EcoPDI designed novel PSs from earth-abundant metals such as iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, and manganese, and combined them with natural PSs to produce environmentally friendly, light-activated antimicrobial agents. The overall objective was to develop photosensitizers that can protect crops from resistant pathogens, such as bacteria that attack tomato plants or fruit trees like pears and apples, and fungi that affect citrus fruits. The project followed a triple-impact approach: sustainable (green chemistry, sunlight activation), economic (low-cost materials), and applicable (direct use in agriculture and food safety).
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
In the world, the phrase ""we are going through a major food crisis"" is becoming more and more common. This is because our society is faced with managing an exponentially growing world population and a decrease in arable land per person. This rising demand for food in developing countries is at risk due to plant diseases induced by bacteria, fungi and viruses. At the same time, food is traded globally, enabling the dissemination of dangerous microorganisms worldwide. Therefore, creating alternative and ecologically friendly antibacterial and antifungal treatments is essential to address the growing demand for safe and healthful plant-based foods. EcoPDI aims to solve this current and critical problem by developing new earth-abundant metal compounds with natural ligands as photosensitizers for photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of resistant bacteria and fungi. For this, EcoPDI focuses on the ""Sustainable-Economic-Applicable"" triple approach. Thus, this multidisciplinary project will develop new sustainable treatments that avoid the use of pesticides and employ sunlight to activate the antimicrobial activity of the compounds, will use cheap earth-abundant metals and improve the disadvantages of natural compounds, and apply the new photosensitizers directly to plants through the planned secondment. EcoPDI includes both the transfer of knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidate in new techniques and methods. The findings have the potential to open up space for additional basic and applied research on PDI in plant protection and food safety. This proposal responds to the European Green Deal which has as its objective to restore damaged ecosystems and bring nature back across Europe and reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030.""
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101106108
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5021be925&appId=PPGMS
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e51922946c&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union