New environmental and public health requirements force the agricultural community to change practices in the way of using chemical pesticides. The SMARTBIOCONTROL portfolio proposes an alternative for the development of new phytosanitary products « bio » made from living organisms. However, the efficiency of these biopesticides varies in function of several environmental factors. Therfore, it is essential to be able to characterize them in real time.

Within the portfolio, the BIOSENS project gathers the cross-border expertise of several partners in order to develop a new generation of biochips allowing to control these biocontrol agents, micro-organisms and/or biocidal molecules. Their design is based on the association of new molecular methods of characterization, based on a recognition of ADN or protein markers, with the phenomenon of surface plasmonic resonance. The advantages of this technique resides in the rapid analysis, his very high sensibility and the flexibility of the system which can be specifically adapted to a specific target. These properties will permit to implement a real time and in situ monitoring of biopesticides. The biochips will therefore be useful for the development of products but also for the farmers during their use in fields. Further, they will also be designed for the early detection of pathogenes for which the effectiveness of a biological treatment requires a quick response, before the appearance of the first signs.

The realization of complete prototypes requires a multidisciplinary approach and good complementarity between microbiologists, physicians and micro-technology specialists. BIOSENS relies on a cross-border consortium able to develop each of the elements of the biochips:

• Materia Nova
• Multitel
• l’University of Lille 1
• CNRS
• CHR de Lille
• CARAH
• l’ULg

Partners close to the agronomic world (FREDON, PCG – applied research center for vegetables in Flanders, the phytopathologic lab in Gent, and Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech) are also associated in the project to ensure a perfect adaptation of the devices to the needs and practices in the agronomic world. With CARAH, they will facilitate the dissemination of results and the training activities in the agronomic world.