Nanomik Biotechnology: Microencapsulated Plant Defense — Nanomik Biotechnology

Biological model: Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and aromatic plants

Company: Nanomik Biotechnology

Nanomik Biotechnology harnesses the volatile chemical defenses that plants use to fight fungal disease — encapsulating them in edible bio-polymer microcapsules that adhere to crops and release protection on demand — replacing toxic synthetic fungicides with nature's own chemistry.

The challenge

Every year, 25% of global fruit and vegetable production is lost to fungal disease, and the $18.75 billion synthetic fungicide market deployed to prevent those losses is itself under siege — 30% of fungicides have been banned for harming human and environmental health, and fungi continue to develop resistance to those that remain. Agriculture needs crop protection as effective as synthetic chemistry, without its harm to ecosystems, human health, or regulatory compliance.

Nature's strategy

Aromatic plant volatile defense chemistry — thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and neem (Azadirachta indica)

What was emulated

The controlled synthesis and targeted release of volatile terpenoid defense molecules in aromatic plants; the systemic and community-level chemical signaling that plant volatiles trigger in neighbouring organisms; the localised delivery of bioactive compounds without ecosystem-wide accumulation or contamination.

The innovation

Nanomik's Microsome technology microencapsulates volatile plant-defense molecules — including thymol from thyme and azadirachtin from neem — in bio-polymer microcapsules made from edible, sustainable materials rather than microplastics. Applied as a spray, the capsules adhere directly to plant and fungal surfaces and release their active compounds in a controlled, sustained manner triggered by pH and moisture. The result is a platform of bio-fungicides (Methy ME, Methy CS), bio-insecticides (Azatom ME), animal health products (VARRO-EX), food preservatives (BioFlux), and construction antifungals (Mikoshield) — all built on the same biomimetic encapsulation core, with no residues, no microplastics, and no pre-harvest intervals.

Full case study

Every major crop on Earth faces one of its oldest enemies: fungal disease. The world's agricultural industry responds with $18.75 billion worth of synthetic fungicides each year, yet roughly 30% of those chemicals have already been banned by governments due to harm to human and environmental health, and the fungi themselves continue to evolve resistance to the rest. Meanwhile, 25% of all fruit and vegetables produced globally is lost or wasted to fungal spoilage before it reaches a table. The solution, Nanomik Biotechnology argues, was already growing in the fields. Aromatic plants like thyme have spent hundreds of millions of years co-evolving chemical arsenals against exactly these pathogens. Thyme produces thymol — a volatile terpenoid molecule that destroys fungal cell membranes, disrupts pathogen reproduction, and even acts as an airborne signal that triggers neighbouring plants to raise their own defenses. These molecules are extraordinarily effective. The problem is their volatility: released into open air, they dissipate within minutes — far too short-lived to function as a crop protection product. Nanomik's breakthrough is their proprietary Microsome encapsulation platform, which makes these plant-defense molecules durable. Using abundant, edible bio-polymers — not the microplastics that conventional encapsulation technologies rely on — Microsome coats thymol and other plant-derived actives in microscopic capsules that adhere directly to plant and fungal surfaces on contact. Release is controlled by pH response and water swelling, so the active molecules are delivered exactly where they are needed and persist far longer than they would in nature. The flagship products — Methy ME and Methy CS — are bio-fungicides targeting powdery mildew and a broad spectrum of fungal diseases, with zero-day pre-harvest intervals, no maximum residue limits, and no soil or water contamination. Azatom ME applies the same Microsome platform to azadirachtin — derived from the neem tree — as a bio-insecticide. VARRO-EX extends the technology to honeybee colony protection against Varroa mites. BioFlux brings it to post-harvest food preservation. Mikoshield applies it to construction antifungal additives. Founded in Istanbul, Nanomik was a 2020 Ray of Hope Prize finalist, awarded by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and the Biomimicry Institute, and has raised €800,000 in seed funding. Their slogan — "Inspired by Nature, Transformed with Technology" — is not a marketing line. It describes their method precisely: taking what plants already do, and making it last.