Preface

Nanoagribusiness is an emerging field to broaden crop yield, rejuvenate soil health,

present smart agriculture, and activate plant improvement. It’s a way that nanotech-
nology might propel agribusiness to nearly $3.4 trillion by 2020. This volume, Multi-
functional Hybrid Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agri-food and Ecosystems, collects
the know-how, discoveries, and fruitful findings regarding hybrid nanomaterials
(HNMs) and their applications in agriculture, food, and the environment. This book
contains 25 chapters prepared by outstanding authors from Algeria, Bangladesh,
Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, India, Korea, Pakistan,
Slovakia, Swaziland, Turkey, and the United States. The primary three chapters from
the proposed book offer the synthesis and physicochemical characterization of
HNMs, including organic-inorganic HNMs, nanocomposites, core@shell structured
hybrid nanoparticles, chitosan or silica-based nanosystems, and bimetallic nanopar-
ticles. The other 22 chapters are focused on agri-foods and environmental applica-
tions. Current status applications of novel HNMs for the recognition and separation
of heavy metal ions, the degradation and sensing of diverse pesticides, the controlled
release of fertilizer and pesticide products, plant disease and pest management, and
plant promotion as well as the purification, detection, and control of mycotoxins was
investigated. Some new subject matter will probably be integrated covering the
application of hybrid nanotechnology in antimicrobial agents, food packaging, envi-
ronmental bioremediation, gene delivery, sensors, antimicrobial effects, pesticide
delivery, veterinary medicine, and biodeterioration herbicides. Also, current volume
focused on chitosan-based nanosystems in food packaging, silica-based total nano-
systems, carbon nanotubes-primarily based, nanocellulose-based polymer nano-
hybrids for agricultural and biological applications. Other topics include using
cellulose-based hydrogels for three-dimensional bioprinting for tissue engineering;
humic acid and its function in enhancing soil health and plant growth promotion;
multiple extra functions for mixed nanomaterials reminiscent of veterinary medica-
tion; and electrochemical detectors for environmental sensing of pollutants. This
book include a few excellent summaries to examine the present discoveries, which
can include reviewed articles and/or books. This is an applicable book for graduate
students, researchers, and those in industrial sectors that include more than a few
fields of science and technology who are also interested in studying HNMs. The cur-
rent book discussed the effects of a huge type of combined, matched, conjugated, and
exceptional nanocomposites in the agri-food and environment sectors applictions,
as well as dealing with the most vital potential challanges, risks and opportunities.
More and more people, both in academia and industrial sectors, are rediscovering the
opportunities that nanotechnology can provide. Thus, the agri-food and environ-
mental sectors are consistently on the lookout for scientific knowledge to facilitate
creativity and innovation. A recent book might achieve new investigation perspec-
tives, which is important for many researchers. Identical research could possibly be

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supportive, which requires a database to formalize nanotechnology. There are

a few universities that have specialized courses in nanotechnology. Nanoscience
researchers need a specific book that brings this significant body of data collected
in an organized and usable way in a single place.
I am truly thankful to all the authors who contributed chapters and provided their
beneficial suggestions and expertise to this edited book. Without their commitment
and assistance, the compilation of this book may possibly never have been feasible.
Elsevier’s publisher, who also provided an extremely great level of professionalism,
reliability, and tolerance during the entire procedure, is likewise significantly com-
mended. I wish to thank Elsevier officials, in particular, Simon Holt, Senior Acqui-
sitions Editor, Micro and Nano Technologies; Nirmala Arumugam; Mariana C.
Henriques; and Narmatha Mohan, for their generous support and efforts in accom-
plishing this volume. Furthermore, I thank all the reviewers who dedicated their use-
ful time to make significant comments on every chapter. I would like to express my
honest appreciation to my family members for their ongoing support and assistance.

Kamel A. Abd-Elsalam
Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt