Abstract
Controlled pesticide release in response to environmental stimuli is highly desirable for improved efficacy and reduced adverse effects. Recently, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) have become a dazzling star of nanomaterial members in smart delivery systems. In the present study, amino group-functionalized MSN and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) underwent a coupling reaction to facilely afford CMCS modified MSN (MSN-CMCS) as pesticide carrier. However, the loading content of azoxystrobin (AZOX) into MSN-CMCS was only 3.6%, owing to the sharply decreased specific surface area and pore volume. To address this limitation, a novel strategy of emulsion-based synchronous pesticide encapsulation and surface modification of MSN with CMCS was developed. In this way, a satisfactory loading content (21%) can be achieved without sacrificing the pH responsive release properties controlled by gatekeeper CMCS. AZOX-loaded MSN-CMCS exhibited better fungicidal activity against tomato late blight Phytophthora infestans (P. infestans) than AZOX alone under the same doses of active ingredient applied. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled MSN-CMCS were used to track the uptake and translocation of nanoparticles in the target plants and fungi. This research seeks to develop a novel nanocarrier platform for potential applications of pesticides in sustainable plant protection.
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