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Abstract
Pesticides are chemical or biological substances to control pests and protect the
crop yield. Most pesticides suffering from large amounts of losses in the environment
lead to damage of ecological systems and food pollution. To reduce their losses and
increase the utilization rate, we have developed bioinspired mussel avermectin nanoparticles
[P(St-MAA)-Av-Cat] with strong adhesion to crop foliage by the emulsion-solvent evaporation
method and chemical modification. They were near spheres with a diameter of around
120 nm. They displayed remarkable high avermectin content of more than 50% (w/w) and
presented excellent storage stability as well as continuous sustained release. The
photosensitive avermectins loaded were highly improved against ultraviolet light.
Meanwhile, the retention rate of P(St-MAA)-Av-Cat on the crop foliage surfaces was
significantly increased. As a result, the indoor toxicity of P(St-MAA)-Av-Cat was
highly enhanced. The adhesive property strongly depended upon the functional groups
on the nanoparticle surface. The multimodal binding mode of P(St-MAA)-Av-Cat to the
crop foliage surface resulted in stronger adhesion and a longer retention time.
[1
]Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China