{"id":139633,"date":"2024-02-13T14:30:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T19:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//?p=139633"},"modified":"2025-06-17T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T20:40:07","slug":"ucf-researcher-develops-nanotechnologies-for-sustainable-agriculture-optimized-drug-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//ucf-researcher-develops-nanotechnologies-for-sustainable-agriculture-optimized-drug-delivery/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Researcher Develops Nanotechnologies for Sustainable Agriculture, Optimized Drug Delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prolific 女仆AV inventor Swadeshmukul Santra is developing new technologies that hold promise not only for sustainable agriculture, but also for improved medicine./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

Santra, a professor associated with UCF’s NanoTechnology Science Center, Department of Chemistry and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, has 34 女仆AV inventions under his belt and leads the university/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s Materials Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) center, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agricultural recognized Center of Excellence./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

Some of his latest inventions include a nanocomposition that captures and preserves plant materials and agrochemicals and a targeted delivery system for combatting plant disease and providing nutrients at the nano level./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

CapTap Keeps Agrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals Active Longer/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

One recent invention, CapTap, is a gel composition that captures and protects a product/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s active ingredients, helping to extend the shelf life and viability. The technology addresses a persistent problem for industry: loss of chemical activity in ingredients before use./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

Santra says it offers multiple uses and benefits for agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, and it protects active ingredients in their original form in storage conditions and biological environments./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

The inspiration for the invention came after reading an article about polyphenols, he says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cThen I started quickly thinking about how the material, a natural product, could be useful,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d Santra says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cThat/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s the beauty of chemistry./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

He contacted one of UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s industry partners and acquired 50 kilograms/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2014a drum full of a naturally sourced polyphenol./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s very cost-effective,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d Santra says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cAnd then, after that, the magic happened./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

UCF chemistry doctoral student Jorge Pereira is a co-inventor of the technology./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cInitially, we were interested in it as an alternative to controlling plant pathogens using copper or zinc,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d Pereira says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

He says that at the same time, there was also a master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s student looking for a biomedical project on the nano delivery of curcumin. While considering both, Pereira says he realized that he could use the technology to encapsulate and deliver curcumin as a cargo. Later that night, after some restless sleep, Pereira says he realized he could use the technology not only to encapsulate that particular molecule, but you could use it to encapsulate every single molecule that has the same molecular interactions./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

With that, Pereira went to the lab early the next morning./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cI tested the technology with maybe 10 different components, and it seemed that it encapsulated almost all of them with ease,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d he says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cWe concluded that this capturing technology, based on intermolecular interactions, could be used for agriculture and biomedical./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

With the CapTap technology/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s potential, two student researchers were able to develop their master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s theses related to medical issues. Giuliana Giannelli, a co-inventor, published the paper Development of Curcumin-loaded Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Optimization in the Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injury. Meanwhile, Research Assistant Sebastian Leon published Development of Creatine-Loaded Nanopolymer Matrices. Surprisingly, he and the team got an email from scientists with the Association for Creatine Deficiencies (ACD)./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cWe were heavily intrigued because we did not promote this technology in any way,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d Pereira says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

He says that the group wanted to know if CapTap could be used to deliver creatine specifically to the brain to help people suffering from Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), which has no proven treatment to date./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

According to the ACD website, creatine is essential to sustain the high energy levels needed for muscle and brain development. While patients with CTD may have the necessary enzymes to form creatine, the creatine transporters that carry it to the brain and muscles do not function properly, and the creatine stays in the bloodstream./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201cSo you start developing something for one aspect, and then you find out that it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u2019s useful for something completely different,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/u201d Pereira says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n

He says the non-phytotoxic and environmentally friendly technology can encapsulate active ingredients, both organic and inorganic materials, in liquid or gel form. It can also increase the shelf-life of many ingredients in various products, from foods and beverages to agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. In one example application, the technology enables manufacturers to produce commercially available fertilizers at a lower cost. More information is available on the CapTap technology sheet./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/139633/n