By Yemi Olakitan
A specialist in nanotechnology, Prof. Abdulkareem Saka, has stated that the Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+) is trying to create a domestic nanosensor to examine nanoparticles on food items by the end of 2023.
This was stated in an interview by Saka, a NANO+ member who attends Ladoke Akintola University of Technology in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, on January 9, 2023.
The expert added that using nanotechnology to secure food security would improve exports.
He clarified that the field of science and technology known as nanotechnology deals with developing, producing, and using systems, devices, and structures by manipulating atoms and molecules at the nanoscale.
According to Saka, his team is striving to domesticate nanosensors for the nation even though they are already being utilised in other industrialised nations like the USA to detect nanoparticles on food ingredients.
The expert lamented that because of the presence of mycotoxins, the majority of food goods from West African and African nations could not be transferred to Europe or the US.
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“These sophisticated nations don’t believe that our food is safe since mycotoxins are present in it from the time it is grown to the time it is processed.
“Mycotoxins kill a lot of people and injure the body a lot,”
For us to be able to remove mycotoxins from our food and, as a result, leverage on exporting our food, we need a platform in the nanotechnology system.
By the end of 2023, he said, “we are looking at developing indigenous sensors that can analyse micro particles on our meals with support funding from Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND).
Saka emphasised that although Nigeria and other African countries produced a lot of food, its safety was questioned.
He claimed that in 2021, my nanotechnology group received a funding from TETFUND for 26 million naira to work on this Nano Sensor.
“Because rice is the main meal in Nigeria, we plan to concentrate on sensors for this crop. We are making progress with our sensor development. We are aiming for the end of 2023, but we must file a patent first as soon as the outcome is known,” he stated.
