VINNY

VINNY

Advanced nano encapsulation of bio-based pesticides and fertilisers for a circular and sustainable viticulture

VINNY is a highly innovative 4-years European funded project focused on sustainable viticulture. 
The project aims to develop eco-friendly nanobiopesticides and nanobiofertilizers from grapevines and industrial by-products to reduce agrochemical use and promote healthier soils. 

The ambition is to reduce the use of conventional agrochemicals by 50% by employing novel and bio-nanoprocessing ttechnologies to develop and encapsulate novel bioactives into biodegradable matrices, making them more effective and bioavailable.

The consortium is powered by 19 partners from Portugal, Spain, Austria, Italy, Denmark, United Kingdom, Israel, Belgium, Romania, and France. This partnership brings together the expertise of universities, research centres, SMEs, and large industries to create innovative solutions for viticulture.

The human and environmental safety of the newly developed nanobiopesticides and biofertilizers will be assessed with a focus on nanotoxicology and risk assessment, providing critical data to ensure the formulations are safe and sustainable, in line with EU regulations and Safe-by-Design (SbD) principles.

UNIMIB is leader of WP5, which aims to evaluate the safety assessment starting with studies of nanotoxicology, followed by LCA studies and the development of a Safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) platform to support the entire project.

Call: HORIZON-CL4-2023-RESILIENCE-01-34 – Advanced (nano and bio-based) materials for sustainable agriculture (RIA)

Grant Agreement:  101130039

Project Coordinator: University of Minho

UNIMIB WP leader: WP5 Leader

Further information can be found on the official project page or facebook page.

AMYGING

AMYGING

AMYGING – Holistically sustainable multi-modal β-amyloid imaging

AMYGING will demonstrate in a zebrafish embryo model that natural polyphenol-based carrier systems hold great potential as natural actives useful to form the basis of a highly modular amyloid imaging toolbox suitable for in vivo MRI and difference-fluorescence imaging.

Out-of-the-box approaches for combining traditional amyloid-sensing structures with insights from nanotechnology, molecular electronics and inherent characteristics of natural polyphenols allow for the simultaneous realization of multimodal imaging probes.

AMYGING aims at the implementation of a screening platform for highly sensitive detection of misfolded Aβ-oligomers in the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer’s Disease patients via tunable nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs comprise a core of natural condensed polyphenolic (PNPs) structure complexing gadolinium ions and an outer layer of PNPs that are functionalized with amyloid-sensing small actives (ASSAs), a combination which leads to effectively increased contrast agent concentration in the immediate proximity of Aβ-oligomers for optimum bimodal imaging.

Call: PRIN2022

Grant Agreement: 202295845T

Project Coordinator: Margherita Brindisi (UNINA)

UNIMIB WP leader: Heiko Lange (WP2 Leader), Anita Colombo (WP3 Leader)