2024-10-01 05:42:29
Within the framework of the last United Nations Scientific Summit, an international investigation revealed that 100 percent of the Argentine participants in the study had residues of agrotoxic products in their bodies.
The data highlights the need to access more friendly products not only for humans but also for the environment.
With this problem in mind, scientists have developed a product based on native or introduced flora, which eliminates insects and microorganisms in food, without contaminating the environment.
The team is from the National University of San Luis (UNSL) in Argentina. The new product is called FotoFlit and was awarded in the Argentine National Innovation Competition 2023.
The creation of FotoFlit shows that developing this type of products is possible and, even more so, under the seal of local science.
FotoFlit is a sanitizer obtained from local natural products and has the ability to kill fungi, bacteria and insects in fruits and vegetables without damaging the environment.
The development work is directed by the doctor in Chemistry and researcher from CONICET and UNSL, Matías Funes, who explained, in dialogue with the CTyS-UNLaM Agency, that the functionality of the product is based on photodynamic therapy. “It is a new way of generating the death of microorganisms that differs from traditional methods, such as the use of bleach or chlorine oxide,” he explained.
What is the main difference? According to Funes, the commonly used sanitizers generate resistance, which means that increasingly higher concentrations of the product must be used for it to be effective. Photodynamic therapy, on the other hand, is based on using sensitizers, a type of dye, which, when irradiated with light, produces reactive oxygen species. These generate membrane rupture or some dysfunction of the cell, leading these microorganisms to death.
“In the food industry it would have a lot of application because this therapy does not alter the conditions of the food, such as its physical characteristics or the properties of the food, but it does lower the microbial load, allowing it to retain its freshness,” highlighted the researcher about the project that was awarded in the last edition of the INNOVAR Awards.
In addition, he highlighted that it is a natural product, since they use native plants or those that were introduced in the province of San Luis, especially the so-called Hypericum perforatum. It also does not produce any type of waste, since, “while the effect is produced, the product degrades, which means that it does not leave traces in the environment or in the human body because the concentration of compounds used is very small. ”.
From the field to the house
Although the group of researchers received several offers to be able to apply the sanitizer industrially or in planting fields, studies for its large-scale production still need to be carried out. “When that stage is finished, we will also be able to reach people’s homes or sell it to companies. The ultimate goal is for there to be several formulations of FotoFlit,” said Funes.
So far, specialists have developed two types of formulas: the first that had a liquid base and is used with a spray bottle, and the second that has a more solid consistency, similar to that of a gel, to adapt to the needs of each scope.
“We had contacted a company in Chile that harvests berries and transports them to Canada. There are some of these red fruits that cannot be soaked because they lose all their properties. So we talked about designing a type of formulation that would allow them to quickly sanitize the fruit and ensure that it reaches its destination without problems,” said the CONICET researcher.
Finally, he maintained that it is a “quite transgressive product”, since there are no items of this type on the market, so he trusted that the project can access more subsidies to be able to finish its development. “We are confident in our product and we hope that we can advance so that it can be used in an industry to a supermarket or in a home,” he concluded.
Fuente: Marianela Ríos (CTyS Agency – UNLaM) / Science News