The world population is estimated to be eight billion in 2024 and 9.7 billion by 2050 (Godfray, 2014; Lahlali et al., 2022). According to another estimation globally, 33% of the food produced is deteriorated or wasted (Motelica et al., 2020). The pathogens and pests are responsible for the deterioration of food crops, among others. This loss can be saved by using protection methods. The surge in population and food deterioration will demand additional food supply, and therefore food security is an important issue. The traditional way of food protection is not enough, we need to search for alternative technologies such as nanotechnology.

In the present scenario, nanotechnology has revolutionized all the fields of life including medicine, agriculture, energy, electronics, etc. The basis of this technology is nanomaterials that are in the range of 1–100 nm (Rai et al., 2021a). Natural polymers also known as biopolymers are abundantly available in nature, and are biodegradable and thus eco-friendly (Ashfaq et al., 2019; Karimi Sani et al., 2023). These include but are not limited to starch, cellulose, chitosan, and alginate resulting from plants, animals or microbes including fungi, algae, and bacteria. Other forms of natural polymer are nucleic acids including DNA and RNA. Silk, wool, and honey are also natural polymers that are used in daily life (Ganesan, 2017; Chaudhary et al., 2020; Panchal and Vasava, 2022).

Biopolymers (e.g., chitosan, alginate, fibrin, and hyaluronic acid) play a remarkable role in the absorption of water (biopolymer-based hydrogels, super absorbent) in soil (Tomadoni et al., 2019) and can also be used as slow-releasing nanocarriers for the delivery of agrochemicals to plants (fertilizers/nutrients) and also for treating pathogens (fungicides, bactericides, virucides) and pests (pesticides) (Sikder et al., 2021). The release of agrochemicals is slowed down drastically as a consequence, and the leaching of the agrochemicals into the soil and aquatic ecosystem minimizes. The polymer-based hydrogels can be used as absorbing agents, slow release agents for agrochemicals and seed-coating materials for easy germination by keeping away seeds from pathogens and pests (Tomadoni et al., 2019).

Similarly, natural polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and their combinations or composites with nanoparticles (e.g., ZrO₂) can be used as biodegradable and/or edible films in food packaging that can be alternatives to non-biodegradable packaging materials (Karimi Sani et al., 2023).

Although the use of natural polymers in e.g., food industry, food packaging, and agriculture is beneficial from eco-friendly point of view, there are some inherent limitations resulting from their properties, such as poor stability, mechanical strength, and rapid degradation, that need to be improved to produce a favorable product for these sectors. These challenges can be overcome when natural polymers are used as encapsulating agents for the nanoparticles such as AgNPs, AuNPs, CuNPs, SiNPs, MgNPs, etc. (Karimi Sani et al., 2021; Reddy et al., 2021; Taherimehr et al., 2021; Rofeal et al., 2022). It is hoped that natural polymers and their composites will significantly benefit food and agriculture by ensuring food security and sustainability (Sikder et al., 2021; Rofeal et al., 2022).

In this review, we have discussed the role of eco-friendly natural polymer nanocomposites in food and agriculture. In addition, we have analyzed the opportunities, challenges, and risks (toxicity) concerning the use of nanomaterials in food and agriculture and also the public perception of such applications that are essentially required for acceptance of new technology.

The polymer nanocomposite is considered to multiphase hybrid solid material that contains one of the phases as nanoscale fillers that have at least one dimension in less than 100 nm distributed within a polymer matrix (Ray and Bousmina, 2005). Polymer nanocomposites are composed of the polymer matrix, nanofillers, plasticizers, and compatibilizers (Winey and Vaia 2007; Bustamante-Torres et al., 2021) (Figure 1).

The polymers used to preparation of nanocomposites could be classified as natural and chemically synthesized biodegradable polymers; microbial polyesters and also non-biodegradable polymers (Clarinval and Halleux, 2005; Bordes et al., 2009), as shown in Figure 1.

A current challenge in agriculture is to obtain more food production for a growing world population in less per capita land surface. For this, the use of fertilizers and other agrochemicals manages to increase the volume of agricultural products, however, they have negative environmental implications. For instance, soil nitrogen is lost by volatilization, this loss can reach 70%. Even a large proportion of the applied urea is lost by volatilization, leaching, or by incorporation into the soil (Avila-Quezada et al., 2022). Furthermore, some micronutrients are not available to plants (Madrid-Delgado et al., 2021) mainly in calcareous soil (Olivas-Tarango et al., 2021). For this reason, it is essential to have new nanotechnology-based fertilizers on the market. Moreover, pesticides are also largely lost from the field to other non-target sites due to weather factors (Materu et al., 2021) (Figure 3).

Nanomaterials (NM) are promising for use in agriculture because they have advantages, among the main ones is the low amount of product applied, remain for the desired time in the environment thus the active ingredients can be dosed and therefore control the pest or pathogen (Singh et al., 2020).

To increase the availability of nutrients for plants or the active ingredients against pathogens in sustainable agriculture, controlled release systems are the most viable option, for freeing themselves in a slower, sustained, and more directed way (Kamaly et al., 2016).

The nanomaterials designed for controlled release are the current trend in sustainable agriculture due to its long shelf life, in addition to the active ingredient is transferred by regulated permeation to a target site, for instance, nutrients are released as ions soluble in the soil (Shi et al., 2014).

The nanonutrients are delivered directly in an emulsion with the nanoelement, administration of the encapsulated nanoelement designed for slow controlled release or through complex nanocapsules incorporated in the matrix of an organic polymer that serves as a vehicle (de Olivera et al., 2019). The success of nanoencapsulated fertilizers and pesticides is the slow release and protection of the active ingredient with a hydrophilic coating to absorb water, swell, dissolve and release the active ingredients. The slow release is related to the stability of the coating nanocomposites (nanocapsules, nanospheres, micelles, and nanogels) (Sinha et al., 2019; Fertahi et al., 2021).

Biopolymers have agricultural applications because they are biodegradable, biocompatible, bioactive, and hydrophilic. Natural biopolymers of plant, animal and microbial origin are excellent options to replace synthetic agrochemicals. Moreover, biopolymers by their origin are innocuous, besides, a polymeric formulation of bioactive agents is relatively simple to achieve (Rahim et al., 2020). Polymeric nanoparticles allow bioactive substances to be encapsulated and protect them from degradation by external factors such as the weather (Joy et al., 2022). Agricultural polysaccharide hydrogels as carriers for controlled release nutrients, reduce the amount of fertilizer applied, as well as providing easy diffusion from the root to the entire plant (Fertahi et al., 2021).

Moreover, polysaccharide-based hydrogels can be incorporated with other synthetic polymers to produce valuable polysaccharide materials which serve as fertilizer carriers (Ghobashy, 2020). Moreover, the combination of biopolymer with SiO₂, which is an inert material, has many nanotechnological applications, such as the administration and nanoencapsulation of active ingredients. Holed and porous SiO₂ nanoparticles allow the loading of molecules of interest as active ingredients within the nanolayer (Torabi and Mohammadi, 2013).

Due to all these advantages offered by biopolymers for the delivery of agrochemicals, it is concluded that they currently offer maximum efficiency with minimal use.

Nanocapsules, nanospheres, micelles, nanogels, and nanofibers are the most common polymer-based nanomaterials delivering active ingredients in agriculture (Sun et al., 2020).

The presence of water in the soil is a key factor for the growth and efficient production of crop plants and significantly affects agricultural sector during drought seasons or in regions with permanent water deficiency (Bogati and Walczak 2022). In agriculture, hydrogels and their composites are most commonly used as soil conditioners to facilitate the growth of crop plants by providing nutrients and water (Ghobashy 2020). Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks of hydrophilic nature, that are not soluble in water, but effectively store and gradually release the water. They may be formed by using natural polymers of plant, microbial, algal, fungal or marine animal origin as well as hybridization with a synthetic one. Among them are those based on polysaccharides (chitosan, alginate, carrageenan, starch, cellulose, and pullulan), proteins (silk, keratin, and collagen) (Varghese et al., 2020; Rai et al., 2021b).

Hydrogels are used to improve the water ability of soils and reduce the drought stress of crop plants as they can adsorb water solutions up to a hundred times their weight (Guilherme et al., 2015; Hasan and Abdel-Raouf 2019). They play a major role in tissue regeneration, drug delivery, smart electronic devices, etc. There is considerable progress in using polysaccharides as a base for such composites (hydrogels), due to their eco-friendly nature, biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioactivity, and non-toxicity (Jiang et al., 2020).

Studies on biopolymer-based hydrogels showed superior water capacity, from 80 g g⁻¹ water storage of cellulose-based hydrogel (Demitri et al., 2013) by 290 g g⁻¹ water storage of chitosan-based hydrogel combined with aluminium chloride hexahydrate (Zhang et al., 2022) to 329 g g⁻¹ water storage of cellulose/chitin hydrogel (Kono and Zakimi 2013). In addition, the great interest in hydrogels is due to their ability to retain water in the soil over the long term (Tomadoni et al., 2019). To obtain novel and innovative products with improved structural properties and functionality some solutions are proposed, including optimization of the synthesis process by incorporation of nanomaterials into natural polymer-based hydrogels (Sohail et al., 2022). For instance, the increased liquid absorption was achieved by incorporating zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) into guar gum-pectin/polyacrylamide hydrogel composite (GG-PC/PAAm/ZnOx). It has been suggested that the improved swelling may be related to water uptake to compensate for the increasing ionic osmotic pressure resulting from the presence of nZnO and/or altered structure of pores and expanding the polymer network, subsequently increasing the space for water (Sayed et al., 2022).

The effectiveness of hydrogels depends on both their composition and the active ingredient embedded in the composite. Treatment of infected lettuce seedlings with chitosan-based hydrogel loaded with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) resulted in suppression of disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae. Authors suggest that the mechanism of action involves direct interaction of Cu-based composite with fungal cells. In addition, seedlings under exposure to Cu-chitosan hydrogel were stimulated to increase nutrient uptake and improved regulation of metabolites production, including salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA), further enhancing the plant’s immune response. The implementation of biodegradable and environmentally friendly hydrogels can reduce the dose of chemicals introduced into the environment and thus minimize adverse effects on non-target organisms, ecosystems, and human health (Shang et al., 2021). Agrochemical-loaded hydrogels are used for seed coating to improve seed germination and seedling growth, as well as their resistance to pathogens. Some studies have shown improved hydrogel properties by introducing micellar domains. Defined as self-organizing structures, micelles can be formed by low-molecular-weight surfactants as well as suitably modified polymers. It is proposed that they can be used to control the release rate of active compounds, increase solubility and bioavailability, and minimize chemical degradation (Pekař, 2015; Ye et al., 2015; Nascimento et al., 2020).

As heavy metal and other harmful soil contaminations have become a serious problem in agriculture another noteworthy issue is the potential use of hydrogels for soil remediation. Bio-absorbent properties were displayed by carboxylmethylcelullose (CMC) (Sekine et al., 2020), carboxymetylcellulose-starch-gelatin hydrogel (Devasia and John 2021), cellulose/lignin (Shan et al., 2021), and chitosan (Bhullar et al., 2022) which possess a high ability to the removal of diverse dyes and heavy metals. Therefore, nanohydrogel sheets (synthesized of guar gum and soya lecithin) successfully absorbed thiophanate methyl with maximum capacity 59.205 mg/g, suggesting their potential in the environment management for decontamination from fungicides (Sharma et al., 2018). Furthermore, it was found, that embedding lignin-based hydrogel with FeS nanoparticles resulted in an almost 6-fold increase in the sorption capacity of Cd to 61.77 ± 1.09 mg g⁻¹. The composite is recyclable (by acid etching of Cd ions), thereby enabling its reuse (Liu et al., 2020). In turn, Kamel et al. (2020) prepared CMC-based hydrogel combined with magnetite NPs and porous carbon (PC) for lead-ions and methylene blue dye removal. Incorporation of Fe₃O₄ NPs and PC increased the sorption capacity and removal efficiency. These effects were associated with formation of highly porous structure and stronger attraction of contaminants.

There are several benefits when natural polymers (polysaccharides) are used in combination with synthetic hydrogel Ghobashy (2020), as given below.

(i) Enhancement of the gelling capacity of polysaccharides in water so that they swell

Food can be packaged according to three levels, such as primary, secondary and tertiary packaging. A coating or foil that directly surrounds the food and has contact with it and thus affects the quality of the product is included in the primary packaging. Secondary packaging already covers products previously covered by primary packaging, and tertiary packaging is called outer packaging, which is very often used for transport or distribution (Ahari and Soufiani, 2021). Edible coatings are thin and transparent layers (films) applied to the surface, mainly fruits, that are made of materials intended to come into contact with food (Figure 4), and added to or as a substitute for the waxes naturally present on the surface of the fruits (Mahela et al., 2020).

Nanocoatings are ultra-thin layers in the range of 1–100 nm thick applied on the substrate without altering the surface of the substrate and act as a barrier to different gases and food-deteriorating microbes (https://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=47370.php), as shown in Figure 4.

Polymers are excellent agents for food packaging owing to their barrier properties to keep products away from food deteriorating microbes, retain their quality (freshness), and enhance their shelf-life. Each polymer has a different property. Some polymers are barriers to oxygen, while others may be barriers to water vapor. These are influenced by several factors including polarity, crystallinity, hydrogen bonding, etc. (Sarfraz et al., 2020). The barrier properties of polymers can be enhanced by using nanofillers leading to the formation of nanocomposites, as mentioned previously.

Overall, the coatings to be used in food industry must meet several important criteria, as shown in Figure 5.

However, processed and fresh fruits have specific packaging requirements. Fruit films and coating, as a part of the product, are fully edible therefore the components from which they are produced must be non-toxic, and meet all safety standards (i.e., their composition should be GRAS—Generally Recognized as Safe). They also should not alter the taste of the product (Burdock and Carabin, 2004; Yousuf et al., 2018). Moreover, the fruit coating should have low water vapor permeability to delay drying out and limits the permeability of oxygen and carbon dioxide to slow down respiration and metabolic activity as well as the maturation process (Sharma A K et al., 2019). The edible coatings/films made of various types of biopolymers combined with various additives such as glycerol, aloe resins, polyphenols or urea are less than .3 mm thick (Embuscado and Huber, 2009; Castro-Muñoz and González-Valdez, 2019; Morales-Jiménez et al., 2020). The components of coatings are well dissolved and dispersed in water, alcohol, the mix of water and alcohol or other solvents prior to application to the product using dipping, spraying, brushing or panning methods, followed by drying (Bourtoom, 2008; Díaz-Montes et al., 2021). These bioactive polymers when possessing antimicrobial, antioxidant, water and oxygen barriers/scavengers extend the shelf life of coated products (Malhotra et al., 2015). The edible coating or film is mainly selected on the basis of water solubility, hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity nature, ease in the formation of coatings and sensory properties to convey information about food quality and increase the safety of foods (Sharma A et al., 2019; Pirsa et al., 2022).

As far as the risks related to the application of nanocomposites are concerned, it is important to assess, manage and govern risks meticulously (Iavicoli et al., 2017). The proper assessment of the effect of shape, size, surface charge, concentration, etc. of engineered nanoparticles used to form nanocomposites is a matter of great concern and should be studied carefully, and the risk management should be managed and regulated (Amini et al., 2014; Evans et al., 2017).

Although nanotechnology has multiple applications in different fields, our understanding of toxicity still needs the support of more thorough studies to know the real picture of noxiousness. In this context, the use of polymer-based nanocomposites is a risk as nanoparticles may enter food and cause toxicity and allergy. This is possible due to the migration of packaging materials into food (Figure 7). Therefore, the migration test of nanomaterials is essential under controlled conditions (Honarvar et al., 2016). The migration of nanomaterials from polymer nanocomposites to food depends on the physicochemical properties of both nanomaterials and food. These include, but are not limited to shape, size, concentration, solubility, diffusion of nanomaterials and type of food, pH, and duration of interaction with the nanomaterials used in packaging (Huang et al., 2015). Furthermore, the authors raised the following questions, that need to be addressed concerning the toxicity due to the migration of nanomaterials, about physicochemical characterization of nanomaterials, protocols to assess the migration of nanomaterials, sophisticated methods to detect and characterize nanomaterials, how nanoparticles’ physical nature (shape, size, surface charge, etc.) is related to toxicity, and toxicokinetics after consumption.

Amini et al. (2014) cautioned that the toxicity caused by nanomaterials may be a disaster. Therefore, characteristics of the nanomaterials such as shape, size, solubility, and agglomeration should be studied in depth in order to understand the real problem of nanotoxicity. Similarly, Evans et al. (2017), have critically reviewed the genotoxic effect of nanomaterials that may affect cellular mechanisms, including DNA damage and cell division. On the one hand, the attractive and unique characteristics of nanoparticles make them important to use in various fields, but on the other hand, they are a potential threat to the environment and humans (Onyeaka et al., 2022).

However, there are some supporting studies that showed that there is no migration of nanomaterials into food if encapsulated properly in the polymer used (Bott and Franz, 2018).

There are regulations framed by the United States Food Drug and Administration (U.S. F.D.A.) and the European Commission (EU) which deal with the migration of nanomaterials into the food product that regulates (Paidari et al., 2021), as exemplified by EU directive No. 85/572/EEC. According to this directive the migration of nanomaterial should surpass the limit of 10 mg/dm² (Hannon et al., 2015).

Although agrifood nanotechnology has tremendous potential to face the global challenges of food security and sustainable crop production, there are some challenges that need to be overcome. The fate of the nanoparticles, bioavailability, ecotoxicity, etc., are the major issues that need to be addressed meticulously and convincingly (Ashraf et al., 2021). The nanomaterials used in polymer nanocomposites should be evaluated for their toxicity to soil microbes, and interaction with plants, environment, and animal models. Lowry et al. (2019) have discussed the opportunities and promises of nanobiotechnology, the challenges, and the need for a systems approach to design sustainable nanotechnology. Mishra et al. (2017) suggested overcoming the toxicity, optimizing the dose of nanoparticles, determining permissible limits, and designing experiments in the natural environment. Furthermore, the authors recommended the commercial application of biosynthesized nanoparticles in agriculture and food sectors.

Consumers’ role in accepting any technology depends on the safety of the technology used. In the present digitization era, people are more concerned about the food products that are promoting their health, but they are equally interested in the technologies which do not cause any harm to health and environment (Wansink and Chandon, 2014). The regulations and their proper implementation are essential for consumers. The engineered nanomaterials used in the products or nanocomposites should be addressed clearly for public acceptance. Recently, Siddiqui et al. (2022) reviewed the social and psychological factors of the consumers’ perception of non-packaging for food and food products. Among the social factors social concerns, norms and media play important role in attracting new nanocomposite-based technology. In addition to the social factors, there are psychological aspects such as awareness, motivation, attitude, beliefs, fear, and inherent habits which drive consumers to use new technology (Siddiqui et al., 2022). It is suggested that there is a need for the generation of awareness, attitude, and motivation among consumers to accept the use of new technology in food and also for sustainable agriculture (Siddiqui et al., 2022).

The use of nanopackaging and nanocomposites is increasing fast, but unfortunately, the efforts on framing and implementation of corresponding regulations have not been made. Usually, the regulations framed should emphasize food, health, and environment (Siddiqui et al., 2022).

Biopolymer-based formulation shows great potential in food preservation or crop plant protection. They reduce pathogens and contaminants in fresh and processed foods during storage and transportation, as well as exhibit biostimulant effects, reduce seedling damage and burn defects, improve the physical and chemical properties of soil, and increase water retention (Fertahi et al., 2021). However, before their practical application, there are some challenges to overcome such as the precise release of active ingredients in a controlled manner and the long-term stability of bioproducts. Furthermore, it is essential to deliver of appropriate concentration of nutrients or fertilizers at the relevant stage of plant growth. Biopolymer efficiency may be negatively affected by soil parameters and microbial activity (Spiridon et al., 2008; Weng et al., 2013; Ramili, 2019). Irfan et al. (2020) used a machine learning model to predict the kinetic of nitrate release from urea coated with starch-polyvinyl alcohol-cross-linked biopolymer considering many factors such as the method of synthesis and product properties. Estimated results were similar to release profiles from the experiments, making it a potential tool for predicting of nutrient release profiles from various biopolymer-based fertilizers.

The commercialization of biopolymers or their composites supplemented with nanomaterials has been relatively slow despite numerous studies. Research efforts should include scale-up studies to facilitate the transfer of products from the laboratory to safe industrial applications (Souza et al., 2020; Binod et al., 2021). Therefore, polylactic acid (PLA) films are commonly used for packaging fresh food (fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, and grains). Additional antimicrobial substances (peptides, amino acids, and essential oils) are loaded into PLA films to inhibit bacterial corrosion of food (Roy and Rhim, 2020; Subbuvel and Kavan 2022). For instance, polylactic acid and magnesium oxide (MgO) has been used to prepare large-scale biopolymer films for food packaging applications. The production process was transferred from a twin-screw extruder (5% PLA/MgO) to industrial-scale blown film extrusion (3% PLA/MgO), resulting in increased production from 45 g to 3 kg of each film, as well as improved mechanical, barrier, antibacterial, thermal and optical properties (Swaroop and Shukla, 2018; Swaroop and Shukla, 2019).

With increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues, the requirements for sustainable packaging as well as the use of biodegradable products to deliver plant protection and growth promotion supplies are becoming a new trend in the food and agriculture sectors (Yan et al., 2022). However, there are emerging concerns about the safe use of agrochemicals and food packaging materials with nanoadditives due to the risk of their leaching into food products (Sohal et al., 2018; Taherimehr et al., 2021). Nevertheless, there is still a need for further research on nano-biocomposites to address their impact on human health, as well as environmental issues, including studies of transport, cytotoxicity and ecotoxicity before introducing these materials into widespread use (Mohanty and Swain, 2017; McClements 2021). Vijayakumar et al. (2021) synthesized silver nanoparticles using cellulose biopolymer as stabilizing agent (Ce-AgNPs) and evaluated its cytotoxicity and phytotoxicity for potential biomedicine and agriculture applications. The results showed a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect against normal human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells and similar IC50 values at level 5 and 4.9 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, Ce-AgNPs decreased the germination and shoot length of wheat (Triticum aestivum) seedlings, whereas there was no adverse effect on the germination and growth of mung (Vigna radiata) seedlings. Thus, it is essential for the application of products incorporating nanomaterials to be rigorously tested for the occurrence of potentially undesirable effects on plants, animals, and humans (Sohal et al., 2018).

The emergence of nanotechnology has transformed different fields including food and agriculture. With various applications in agriculture for sustainable crop production and also to feed the ever-increasing population, nanotechnology has come to rescue mankind. In the present scenario, there is a high demand for use of biopolymers or natural polymers that are biodegradable without causing any hazard to the environment and living organisms. The application of nanomaterials impregnated or encapsulated in polymers like chitosan, pullulans, alginate and CMC, etc. for the delivery of agri-chemicals such as fungicides, insecticides, nanofertilizers, and micronutrients play a key role in efficient and slow delivery of chemicals. Such chemicals are used in minimum quantity but they are utlilized fully without the loss in drainage and thus not mixing into aquatic ecosystems. In natural environment, hydrogels are very important and facilitate to improvement of the water ability of soils and reduce the drought stress of crop plants as they retain moisture for a long duration by adsorbing water. These water hydrogels not only retain water but are also used for the slow delivery of fertilizers and micronutrients. Moreover, ultrathin-nanocoatings can be applied on the substrate without altering it to act as a barrier for different gases and food-deteriorating microbes. These nanocoatings (lipid, protein or polysaccharide-based) or encapsulation also augments antioxidant, and barrier properties, and thus nanocoatings on food packaging enhance the chance of increasing the shelf life of the food and food products. The barrier property of the nanocoatings can be further enhanced by organic and inorganic nanofillers. Although the application of nanomaterials coupled with biopolymers in food and agriculture applications is beneficial, it is argued by the scientific community that there are high chances of migration of the nanomaterials into food, which warrants further extensive research for food safety and security. Food toxicity is a matter of great concern, and therefore, a thorough assessment of toxicity risks, its management, and regulations governing such toxicity should be studied. The physical characteristics of the nanomaterials such as shape, size, solubility, and agglomeration, and their bioactivity need to be addressed to understand the toxicity of such materials. However, application of natural or biopolymers and their composites may provide a safer use of nanomaterials in food and agriculture. Furthermore, on one hand, there are a plethora of possibilities for application of polymer-based nanocomposites, while on the other hand, the fate of nanomaterials, solubility, and ecotoxicity are major challenges that warrant a deeper understanding of their applications. In application of any novel technology, public perception plays a key role. If they are not aware of the benefits and limitations of new technology, the efforts to commercialize the technology for the end users will be futile. However, this problem can be solved by arranging public meetings to generate awareness, attitudes, and skills among the common people.