A Bioresponsive System Based on Mesoporous Organosilica Nanoparticles for Smart Delivery of Fungicide in Response to Pathogen Presence

Abstract

Stimulus-responsive release systems for site-specific pesticide delivery are one of the promising strategies to improve the use efficiency of pesticides as well as decrease environmental damage. Herein, a plant disease microenvironment-responsive nanosystem using disulfide-bridged mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MONs) as the porous support and calcium carbonate (CaC) as the capping agent was constructed to deliver prochloraz (PRO) for management of Sclerotinia disease. The obtained PRO-MON-CaC had high loading capacity and could effectively enhance the light stability of PRO. This delivery system could respond to different biological stimuli associated with Sclerotinia disease and release PRO intelligently. Compared with PRO emulsion in water, PRO-MON-CaC provided a longer Sclerotinia disease protection window on potted rapeseed plants. The acute toxicity of PRO-MON-CaC to zebrafish was reduced more than 4-fold compared with that of PRO technical. Additionally, MON-CaC nanocarriers had no obvious influence on the growth of rapeseed plants. This study represents a promising approach for sustainable plant disease management and precision farming.