The excessive and indiscriminate use of synthetic agrochemicals and toxic fumigants has become essential in the maximization of agricultural production worldwide. Despite their beneficial roles in the field and during storage, they produce environmental pollution, increasing pesticide/herbicide resistance and destruction of beneficial insects, and placing the health of producers and consumers at risk. This scenario has enabled the development of new scientific approaches focused on alternatives and ecofriendly and safer forms of pest management including the use of botanical products such as plant extracts and essential oils (EOs) with insecticidal action. The application of EOs for pest control presents several advantages: low toxicity and low persistence; biodegradability; high selectivity; no harmful effects on people or crops; and low environmental impact during and after use. Unfortunately, EOs are biologically unstable since they are easily degraded under the action of pH, oxygen, light and moderate temperatures. Generally, they present low aqueous solubility and high volatility. In this sense, nanotechnology represents a potential solution: the loading of EOs in nanostructured systems. The use of biopolymers as nanocarriers not only provides the controlled release of the active ingredient, but also offers the following benefits: biodegradability, biocompatibility, environmental safety, low toxicity and competitive production costs. This review aims at describing the most recent preparation techniques and characterization based on EO-loaded bio-nanomaterials. Also, this review highlights studies of novel bio-nanoformulations and their potential roles in agricultural practices to promote sustainable and ecofriendly cultivation. Finally, we summarize the commercial challenges and limitations related to these promising bio-nanoformulations. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

中文翻译：

---

用于可持续农业应用的含精油生物纳米材料

过度和不分青红皂白地使用合成农用化学品和有毒熏蒸剂已成为实现全球农业生产最大化的必要条件。尽管它们在田间和储存过程中发挥着有益的作用，但它们会造成环境污染，增加对杀虫剂/除草剂的抗药性和对有益昆虫的破坏，并使生产者和消费者的健康处于危险之中。这种情况促成了新的科学方法的发展，重点是替代品和环保且更安全的害虫管理形式，包括使用具有杀虫作用的植物提取物和精油 (EO) 等植物产品。EOs 在害虫防治中的应用呈现出几个优点：低毒和低持久性；生物降解性；高选择性；对人或作物无有害影响；使用期间和使用后对环境的影响低。不幸的是，EOs 在生物学上是不稳定的，因为它们在 pH、氧气、光照和中等温度的作用下很容易降解。通常，它们呈现低水溶性和高挥发性。从这个意义上说，纳米技术代表了一种潜在的解决方案：在纳米结构系统中装载 EO。使用生物聚合物作为纳米载体不仅提供了活性成分的控制释放，而且还提供了以下好处：生物降解性、生物相容性、环境安全性、低毒性和具有竞争力的生产成本。本综述旨在描述基于 EO 负载生物纳米材料的最新制备技术和表征。还，本综述重点介绍了新型生物纳米制剂的研究及其在农业实践中促进可持续和生态友好型种植的潜在作用。最后，我们总结了与这些有前途的生物纳米制剂相关的商业挑战和局限性。© 2021 化学工业协会 (SCI)。