Nanotechnology for animal production

Nanotechnology, one of the most promising technologies, is well
known for its pervasiveness in several diverse fields, including
agro-food industry. With this presentation, we will show how
nanotechnology is peeping in the animal production world and
the improvements that will originate from this liaison.
Nanotechnology focuses currently on the use of nanomaterials. It
is generally accepted that a nanomaterial is a material having at
least one dimension on the scale of 100 nanometers or less.
Nanomaterials can be nanoscale in one dimension (e.g. films),
two dimensions (e.g. fibers and tubes) or three dimensions (e.g.
particles). These nanomaterials will help in the management of
diseases with antibacterial nanostructured surfaces that will
control pathogens, or with the nanodelivery of veterinary products
(drugs and vaccines) to the farmed animals. Bio-functionalized
magnetic nanoparticles will allow sperm selection to generate
the desired gender. Water will be filtered more efficiently
with nanostructured filters or it will be treated with nanoparticles
that are capable to selectively remove toxicants, and
pathogens in the water will be detected by nanosensors.
Nanotechnology can be used also for feed supplementation with
the idea that nanosized components could be more bioavailable
than their bulk counterparts. The agro-food industry has recently
developed several of such systems for the delivery of nutrients,
but their application to aquaculture is still scarce. In this context,
we have evaluated diets supplemented with nanoparticles of
essential metals such as iron zinc and selenium and observed an
influence in survival rate and grow performance as well as an
effect on the expression of genes involved in trace mineral intestinal
absorptions, bone formation and oxidative stress response.
In spite of the potential benefits that nanotechnology offers to
the animal production industry and more in general to the agrifood
sector, little is known on the safety aspects of this technology.
Therefore, studies aimed at the improvement and implementation
of nanotechnological applications should be paralleled by
studies on risk assessment.