Preparation and Characterization of Emamectin Benzoate Solid Nanodispersion

The solid nanodispersion of 15% emamectin benzoate was prepared by the method of solidifying nanoemulsion. The mean particle size and polydispersity index of the solid nanodispersions were 96.6±1.7 nm and 0.352±0.041, respectively. The high zeta potential value of 31.3±0.5 mV and stable crystalline state of the nanoparticles suggested the excellent physical and chemical stabilities. The contact angle and retention compared with microemulsions and water dispersible granules on rice, cabbage, and cucumber leaves indicated its improved wettability and adhesion properties. The bioassay compared with microemulsions and water dispersible granules against diamondback moths and green peach aphids provided an evidence of its enhanced biological activity. This formulation composition could avoid organic solvents and obviously reduce surfactants. It is perspective in raising bioavailability and reducing residual pollution of pesticides and further improving agricultural production and environmental safety

Polymer-Based Nanoinsecticides: Current Developments, Environmental Risks and Future Challenges-A Review

Introduction. Le développement rapide de l'industrie des nanotechnologies ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour les stratégies modernes de protection des cultures. Cette revue de la littérature résume et discute l'utilisation des polymères comme matrice de support aux insecticides. Ces nouvelles matrices doivent assurer un niveau de protection plus élevé pour les humains et l'environnement, tout en assurant une bonne efficacité de la matière active. Littérature. Certains des polymères synthétiques (y compris le polyéthylène glycol, l'acide polylactique, la polycaprolactone et le polyhydroxybutyrate) qui sont largement utilisés dans les domaines pharmaceutique ou cosmétique, peuvent être utilisés comme matrice de support aux insecticides. Mais les polymères naturels (dont le chitosane, l'alginate, la cellulose, l'amidon et les cyclodextrines) bénéficient d'une attention croissante en raison de leurs propriétés écologiques. Les matériaux polymères peuvent être préparés sous différents types de structures tridimensionnelles, parmi lesquelles les nanocapsules, les nanosphères, les micelles, les nanogels et les nanofibres sont les plus courantes. Les risques environnementaux des nanoinsecticides à base de polymères sont discutés, ainsi que les principaux défis à relever avant leur commercialisation future. Il s'agit notamment de la réduction de leurs couts de production et de l'évaluation de leurs performances, en particulier sur le terrain. De nouveaux protocoles de caractérisation, de détection et de quantification sont également nécessaires de toute urgence. Conclusions. Les nanoformulations à base de polymères semblent prometteuses pour la libération ciblée de matières actives insecticides tout en réduisant la dérive de ces substances nocives. Afin de faciliter le développement de nouveaux produits bénéfiques, une collaboration entre les pays du monde entier est nécessaire

Simple and Real-Time Colorimetric Assay for Glycosidases Activity Using Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles and Its Application for Inhibitor Screening

The development of real-time assays for enzymes has been receiving a great deal of attention in biomedical research recently. Self-immolative elimination is the spontaneous and irreversible disassembly of a multicomponent construct into its constituent fragments through a cascade of elimination processes, in response to external stimuli. Here, we report a simple and real-time colorimetric assay for glycosidases (β-galactosidase and β-glucosidase). Self-immolative elimination was utilized to release amines to give rise to aggregation and color change by electrostatic attraction after cleavage of the trigger by enzymes displayed on functionalized gold nanoparticles (Gal-Lip-AuNPs and Glc-Lip-AuNPs, where AuNPs denotes gold nanoparticles). The detection limits for β-galactosidase and β-glucosidase were as low as 9.2 and 22.3 nM at 20 min, and they improved slightly over time. Thus, glycosidase activity was detected successfully in real time, and this technique could be used for glycosidase inhibitor screening, based on real-time colorimetric variation

Biocidal activity of polylactic acid-based nano-formulated abamectin on Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the aphid predator Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abamectin is a common biocide used to control agricultural insect pests. However, the water insolubility of abamectin may result in extra organic solvent introduced in the environment. To solve this issue, it is desirable to develop nanoformulations to encapsulate abamectin with environment-friendly polymers. In this study, two polylactic acid based abamectin nanoformulations were prepared. The average particle sizes, measured by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope, were 240 nm and 150 nm, respectively. The insecticidal activity of these nano-formulated abamectin was examined in the laboratory on the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae). The acute toxicity of nano-formulated abamectin on non-target aphid predator Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was also evaluated by topical, residual and oral exposure. The two nano-formulated abamectin had comparable insecticidal effect with commercial abamectin formulation against the pea aphid. Taking median lethal concentration (LC50) as the toxicological endpoint, nanoformulations had higher contact toxicity and lower oral toxicity to first-instar larvae of the predator A. bipunctata. These results are expected to contribute to the application of solvent-free nano-formulated pesticides that comply with the integrated pest management (IPM) strategies

The Promising Nanovectors for Gene Delivery in Plant Genome Engineering

Highly efficient gene delivery systems are essential for genetic engineering in plants. Traditional delivery methods have been widely used, such as Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated delivery, biolistic particle bombardment, and viral transfection. However, genotype dependence and other drawbacks of these techniques limit the application of genetic engineering, particularly genome editing in many crop plants. There is a great need to develop newer gene delivery vectors or methods. Recently, nanomaterials such as mesoporous silica particles (MSNs), AuNPs, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and layer double hydroxides (LDHs), have emerged as promising vectors for the delivery of genome engineering tools (DNA, RNA, proteins, and RNPs) to plants in a species-independent manner with high efficiency. Some exciting results have been reported, such as the successful delivery of cargo genes into plants and the generation of genome stable transgenic cotton and maize plants, which have provided some new routines for genome engineering in plants. Thus, in this review, we summarized recent progress in the utilization of nanomaterials for plant genetic transformation and discussed the advantages and limitations of different methods. Furthermore, we emphasized the advantages and potential broad applications of nanomaterials in plant genome editing, which provides guidance for future applications of nanomaterials in plant genetic engineering and crop breeding

Lambda-Cyhalothrin Nanosuspension Prepared by the Melt Emulsification-High Pressure Homogenization Method

The nanosuspension of 5% lambda-cyhalothrin with 0.2% surfactants was prepared by the melt emulsification-high pressure homogenization method. The surfactants composition, content, and homogenization process were optimized. The anionic surfactant (1-dodecanesulfonic acid sodium salt) and polymeric surfactant (maleic rosin-polyoxypropylene-polyoxyethylene ether sulfonate) screened from 12 types of commercially common-used surfactants were used to prepare lambda-cyhalothrin nanosuspension with high dispersity and stability. The mean particle size and polydispersity index of the nanosuspension were 16.01 ± 0.11 nm and 0.266 ± 0.002, respectively. The high zeta potential value of −41.7 ± 1.3 mV and stable crystalline state of the nanoparticles indicated the excellent physical and chemical stability. The method could be widely used for preparing nanosuspension of various pesticides with melting points below boiling point of water. This formulation may avoid the use of organic solvents and reduce surfactants and is perspective for improving bioavailability and reducing residual pollution of pesticide in agricultural products and environment

Macrocyclic Zn complexes for DNA detection

Researchers from Monash University have developed an electrocatalytic method based on a charge transport through DNA films, which allows detection of complementary over non-complementary and mismatched DNA sequences in fully hybridized duplexes

Highly selective and sensitive DNA assay based on electrocatalytic oxidation of ferrocene bearing zinc(II)-cyclen complexes with diethylamine

A highly selective and sensitive electrochemical biosensor has been developed that detects DNA hybridization by employing the electrocatalytic activity of ferrocene (Fc) bearing cyclen complexes (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane, Fc[Zn(cyclen)H2O]2(ClO4)4 (R1), Fc(cyclen)2 (R2), Fc[Zn(cyclen)H2O](ClO4)2 (R3), and Fc(cyclen) (R4)). A sandwich-type approach, which involves hybridization of a target probe hybridized with the preimmobilized thiolated capture probe attached to a gold electrode, is employed to fabricate a DNA duplex layer. Electrochemical signals are generated by voltammetric interrogation of a Fc bearing Zn&minus;cyclen complexes that selectively and quantitatively binds to the duplex layers through strong chelation between the cyclen complexes and particular nucleobases within the DNA sequence. Chelate formation between R1 or R3 and thymine bases leads to the perturbation of base-pair (A&minus;T) stacking in the duplex structure, which greatly diminishes the yield of DNA-mediated charge transport and displays a marked selectivity to the presence of the target DNA sequence. Coupling the redox chemistry of the surface-bound Fc bearing Zn&minus;cyclen complex and dimethylamine provides an electrocatalytic pathway that increases sensitivity of the assay and allows the 100 fM target DNA sequence to be detected. Excellent selectivity against even single-base sequence mismatches is achieved, and the DNA sensor is stable and reusable.<br /

Properties of Avermectin Delivery System Using Surfactant-Modified Mesoporous Activated Carbon as a Carrier

The sensitivity of avermectin to several environmental factors, especially light, causes low pesticidal activity and environmental pollution. In this study, surfactant-modified mesoporous activated carbon (MAC) was employed to absorb avermectin (Av) in order to improve its photostability and allow for sustained release of avermectin. The results suggest that sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) modified MAC has excellent absorption of avermectin, and the absorption can be represented by the Langmuir isotherm model. The Av-MAC-SDS delivery system significantly improves sustained release of avermectin and also effectively inhibits the photodegradation of avermectin. These results indicate that SDS-modified MAC can be used as a carrier for avermectin to improve its pesticidal activity and reduce pesticide residues

Application of Non-Viral Vectors in Drug Delivery and Gene Therapy

Vectors and carriers play an indispensable role in gene therapy and drug delivery. Non-viral vectors are widely developed and applied in clinical practice due to their low immunogenicity, good biocompatibility, easy synthesis and modification, and low cost of production. This review summarized a variety of non-viral vectors and carriers including polymers, liposomes, gold nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes from the aspects of physicochemical characteristics, synthesis methods, functional modifications, and research applications. Notably, non-viral vectors can enhance the absorption of cargos, prolong the circulation time, improve therapeutic effects, and provide targeted delivery. Additional studies focused on recent innovation of novel synthesis techniques for vector materials. We also elaborated on the problems and future research directions in the development of non-viral vectors, which provided a theoretical basis for their broad applications