Discovery of novel photosensitized nanoparticles as a preservative for the storage of strawberries and their activity against Botrytis cinerea

Abstract

In this work, a novel antifungal Nanoparticles (NPs), Fe3O4@Ce6/C6@silane, based on photodynamic therapy (PDT) with excellent anti-Botrytis cinerea activity was reported. Due to the remarkable photosensitization properties of Fe3O4@Ce6/C6@silane, singlet oxygen (1O2) was generated from the photosensitizer Ce6 under red light irradiation, leading to the inhibitory activity of Fe3O4@Ce6/C6@silane against Botrytis cinerea. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of Fe3O4@Ce6/C6@silane towards spore germination and hyphal growth in Botrytis cinerea were 0.022611 and 0.014213 g L−1, respectively. 1O2 generated from Ce6 was confirmed to be the actual antifungal active ingredient, not the irradiation itself. Furthermore, via the infection model involving construction of strawberries infected with Botrytis cinerea, it was found that Botrytis cinerea grew normally in strawberries from the blank and negative control groups, whereas strawberries treated with NPs under red light irradiation did not exhibit Botrytis cinerea growth within 8d of preservation. These results showed that Fe3O4@Ce6/C6@silane has an excellent inhibitory effect on Botrytis cinerea based on the release of 1O2 from Ce6 and could be used as a potential photosensitized preserving agent for fruit storage.