UNIBAIO
Encapsulating Nanotechnology for Reduced Soil Toxicity

More than four million tons of toxic chemicals are applied to the soil each year globally to produce food. Excessive use of toxic chemicals in pesticides and fertilizers has led to serious soil degradation and groundwater contamination that affect the quality and quantity of food production. New environmental regulations limiting the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture have been accelerating since the pandemic due to the long-term health effects of pesticides. Particularly, with regard to the use of glyphosate, which is a carcinogenic and harmful compound to human health and the environment. All these regulations are creating pressure on the agrochemical market to find solutions to overcome environmental problems.

This is where UNIBAIO comes in, with a ground-breaking microencapsulation approach (or strategy) to deliver active ingredients such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in a bio-based capsule. These biodegradable and disruptor materials can increase the effectiveness and stability of agro formulations, as well as reduce the application dosage rate by up to 80 percent.

“Our strategy of assisting agrochemical companies to comply with these new regulations by modifying their current formulations using our unique process without precisely replacing the traditional chemicals currently used by farmers, sets us apart from the competition,” says Matias Figliozzi, CEO of UNIBAIO.

UNIBAIO is a science-based startup with a team of entrepreneurs that specializes in material science and nanotechnology in life sciences. Vera Alvaez and Claudia Casalongué are the two scientists that came up with the concept for UNIBAIO, which focuses on cutting-edge nanotechnology to be used in the formulation of pesticides and fertilizers, making them less harmful.

UNIBAIO’s focus is on natural derived safe matrix with unique properties on the biological targets such as high stability, biocompatibility, biodegradability which together translate into greater bioefficacy.

UNIBAIO’s bio-based microcapsules are made according to a circular economy model, which includes the obtention of chitosan, which is a polymer produced from shrimp shell. Shrimp waste is discarded on a large scale on the Patagonian coast, generating very high-impact pollution. Moreover, shrimp fishing industry wastes are still a main problem with high environmental impact worldwide.

Despite the valuable contribution to reducing the environmental damage from recycling fishery waste, chitosan based compounds represent a smart alternative to traditional agro-chemicals. UNIBAIO’s biopolymeric particles can play as carriers or nanovehicles amplifying the efficiency of the pesticide formulation with the consequent impact on the reduction of product handling, manual labour and application costs. Taken together, all these attributes enhance field performance and boost market competitiveness while lowering environmental pollution. UNIBAIO’s proprietary process and in-depth knowledge stabilises the active ingredients 20 times more efficiently than existing formulations.

“The business strategy of UNIBAIO is to sell bio-based micro nano encapsulation for the delivery of polymers, polypeptides, free amino acids, and hormones, among others,” says Figliozzi. “We also provide R&D and follow-up services related to the personalization and improvement of their existing formulas by encapsulating the active ingredients in a nanocapsule form.”

For agrochemical companies, UNIBAIO offers a customised commercial agreement for particles, continuous control, and development services of new formulated variations, environmental impact certification, and license of the proprietary information.

By constantly researching new applications and functionalities of nanotechnological matrices, UNIBAIO offers innovative solutions for modern agriculture that accelerate the world’s transition to a more sustainable way of producing food. A wide range of molecules are available, enabling the advancement of technological frontiers.

UNIBAIO is the stepping stone toward a more sustainable production culture that enhances the quality and quantity of food by improving the eco-friendliness of chemical formulations.