Developing niosome-based vehicles to deliver plant immune aids

Innovative approaches that ensure food security in light of the increasing world population, increasing variety of crop pests and microbes, and accelerating climate change are urgently needed. Suncor has developed a novel plant immune aid that can effectively enhance the disease resistance of crops to enhance agricultural yields. Through this collaboration with Dr. Todd Hoare’s lab at McMaster, these potent compounds will be formulated into a new type of nanoparticle formulation that can achieve long term stability under sunlight, offer good rainfastness to the leaf, facilitate controlled release for longer-term efficacy, and promote enhanced uptake and transportation of plant immune aids into plants, all of which are essential for the commercial efficacy of these plant bioactive compounds. Based on the collaboration, we aim to generate 3-5 effective formulations to take forward into more detailed commercialization studies. We anticipate these developments will facilitate the translation of Suncor’s plant bioactive compounds, providing both economic impact for Canada as well as enhancements in agricultural yields.

Faculty Supervisor:

Todd Ryan Hoare

Student:

Lisha Zhao

Partner:

Suncor Energy Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

McMaster University