The Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center (BERC), Lead Partner of the EONANOBIOPS project, convened an online Work Package 4 (WP4) coordination meeting on 30 June 2026 to review progress, discuss ongoing and upcoming research activities, address implementation challenges, and agree on priorities for the next implementation period. The meeting was coordinated and chaired by Prof. Serena Riela from the University of Catania (UNICT), leader of WP4, and brought together 20 representatives from EONANOBIOPS partner institutions in Palestine, Tunisia, Greece, and Italy.
The meeting reviewed the first-year achievements of WP4, coordinated ongoing research activities, and prepared the next phase of the project, during which the most promising essential oils selected under WP3 will be incorporated into advanced nano-delivery systems to improve their stability, controlled release, biological performance and safety.
Prof. Serena Riela presented the overall progress of WP4, highlighting advances in developing hectorite hydrogels, halloysite nanotube carriers, zinc oxide-modified halloysite systems, and solid lipid nanoparticles for citrus essential oils. These innovative nano-delivery platforms are designed to enhance the stability and controlled release of essential oils while improving their biological performance. The selected formulations are being prepared for biological efficacy and safety evaluation by BERC.
The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) reported progress in developing biodegradable encapsulation systems based on β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells. The formulations demonstrated promising encapsulation efficiency, physicochemical characterisation and controlled-release performance and have been transferred to the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) for biological evaluation.
The Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) outlined its activities for evaluating the biological performance of the developed nano-formulations against the project’s target pests: Tetranychus urticae, Tuta absoluta, and Aculops lycopersici. The studies will compare encapsulated and non-encapsulated essential oils, assess efficacy, persistence, phytotoxicity and effects on beneficial organisms, and determine the minimum effective concentrations. The four to five most promising nano-formulations will subsequently advance to semi-field and field validation.
The Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center (BERC) highlighted the substantial scientific progress achieved during WP3, including the screening and profiling of promising essential oils and the generation of valuable biological data to support their selection for nano-formulation and validation.
Building on these achievements, BERC introduced a Training-by-Working Programme, a collaborative researcher exchange initiative designed to further harmonise methodologies, expand comparable biological datasets, strengthen partners’ technical capacities, and accelerate the selection of the most effective essential oils for the next stages of the project. The complete programme proposal will be shared with the partners shortly.