Nano-pesticide Research in CAAS

Dr. Haixin Cui

Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
cuihaixin@caas.cn

2014.11.18

Pesticides are an essential substances

for the security of agricultural production

Global input over 4.5 million tons per year

Involving thousands of toxic compounds
Saving about 30% loss of the total production
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Conventional formulations of pesticide

with low efficiency and safety
Techinial (TC)

Formulation

Water-dilution

Using

Insoluble
compounds

Emulsifiable concentrate (EC)

Water power (WP)

Pesticide
solution

Spraying

More than 70% pesticides flow into the environment,

and residue in plant products in process of application.

Inefficient use of pesticides causing

a series of food safety and environmental problems

Residues in food, environmental pollution,

loss of biodiversity, ecological degradation, etc.

Nanotechnologies offering a tool for novel formulation of

environmentally friendly pesticide
A new way for developing novel formulation of pesticide with
high efficacy and safety, such as insecticides, fungicides,
herbicides, antibiotics, growth regulator, and bio-active compounds;
An excellent means for establishing environmentally friendly
and sustainable agriculture system by reduced overall chemical
usage, decreased toxic residues and improved management of
fertilization and crop protection;
An important approach for controlling pesticide residues and
pollution by reducing cropland input and environmental emissions.

Fundamental study on nanotechnology

to improve the efficacy and safety of pesticides

Size-down of pesticide particles increasing

bioavailability and efficiency

Four key scientific issues to be clear

1. Formulation of smart nano-delivery systems

Dispersion
approaches

Delivery
systems

Properties

dispersion, stability, adhesion, permeability and release

Construction

loading model, assembly process and preparation process

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2. Mechanism on leaf deposition and dose transfer

Improving leaf adhesion, deposition rate and duration

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3. Bioavailability increase of pesticide nano-delivery

system

Increase of toxicity and effectiveness

through improving interaction mode and targeting delivery. 11

4. Catalytic degradation of pesticide residues

and improvement of environmental behaviors

Increase on food safety and decrease on environmental risks.

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Research Objectives of Nano-pesticides

Desirable Properties

Examples of Nanopesticieds-Enabled Technologies

Targeted delivery

Increasing targetable transmission efficiency of pesticide into

action targets, such as plants, insects, pathogen.

Controlled release

Controlling release speed of pesticide to maintain least

effective concentration for killing pests and pathogens.

Water dispersion

Increasing solubility and dispersion for fat-soluble drugs in

aqueous solution.

Chemical stability

Improving chemical stability for light-sensitive compounds

by restricting photo-degradation.

Bioavailability

Increasing bioavailability for saving pesticides.

Efficacy duration

Reducing pesticides application and treatment frequency by

extended efficacy duration.

Lower toxicity

Protecting biodiversity in ecosystem .

Environmental
friendliness

Reducing food residues and non-point source pollution due to

the minimum pesticide loss.
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R&D Strategies for Nano-pesticides

Technical Obstacles

Priority Issues of Nano-pesticieds-Enabled Technologies

To formulate smart delivery systems in mesoporous, nano-structured

material, molecular sieve or nano-particles, etc.
To improve release rate and chemical stability by encapsulated
Nano-encapsulation
pesticide in nano-capsules, micelles, liposomes, etc.
To increase solubility and dispersion for fat-soluble drugs in aqueous
Nano-emulsion
solution by self-emulsifying delivery system.
To improve affinity of pesticide to leaf surface using target-mediated
Target mediated
molecules.
modification
To render higher solubility and dispersion for insoluble or fatNanosized process
dispersible compounds nanosized in aqueous solution.
To control release and protect pesticide molecules by absorbed
Inclusion
pesticide in nano-polymer or mesoporous materials.

Safe carrier systems

Nano-coated
granulation
Aqueous colloid
dispersion system

To create slow/controlled release formulation of insecticides or

fungicides to control soil infection diseases and soil pests.
To develop EC alternative products with less toxic solvents for fatsoluble compounds.

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Advantages of Nano-pesticides

Increase on use efficiency by improvement of drug release and

delivery properties
Substantial residue reduction in food and environmental
pollution
Decrease of toxicity to non-target wildlife and ecological system
Improvement on crop protection and production management
Cost savings by reduction on pesticide dosage and frequency.

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Prospective Application of Nanopesticides

Slow/controlled release formulation may be preferable choices in
controlling soil diseases, pests and weeds for reduced toxic
residues in soil and food
Aqueous dispersion formulation may gradually substitute EC
products to avoid the pollution of organic solvents
Nano-capsule formulation may be used in larger scale for
improved stability, bioavailability and efficacy duration of biopesticides
Leaf-affinity formulation might be more suitable in crop spraying
for increased utilization of biological targets.

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Some Strategies to Avoid the Risks

Risks and safety of nanopesticides

Some toxic nano-particles from pesticides may flow into the
environment and food systems threaten human health and
ecosystem balance.
safety and risk assessments of nanopesticides
Research must be conducted according to established method of
nano-toxicology and nano-medicine.
Avoiding usage of high toxic nano-particles
More safe and biodegradable carriers nanomaterials should be
developed for the production of nano-pesticides.
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Research projects (as a national leader)

Project

Research plan

Duration

Novel nano-carriers for agricultural

bio-drugs

863 Program

2006-2010

Photocatalystic ethyline degradation

unit for fruit fresh storage

863 Program

2007-2010

National Priority
R&D Program

2009-2010

Novel Formulation of Biological

pesticides

863 Program

2011-2015

Application of nanomaterials in
agriculture

CAAS Program

2014-2018

973 Program

2014-2018

Nano-carriers delivery systems for

gene transfer

Basic Research on Improving the

Effectiveness and Safety of Pesticides
by nanotechnology

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Application of nano-TiO2 sol in crop diseases control

Photochem. Photobiol. 2010, 113539

Eur. Cells Mater. 2010, 293-293
NSTI-Nanotech. 2009, 286-89

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Sustained-release of nanocapsule pesticide

Nanocapsule pesticides were prepared using biocompatible polymers,
which can reduce spray drift through improved behaviors of adhesion
on leaves, and prevent them from environmental degradation.

Micropor. Mesopor. Mat. 2013, 169, 1-6

Microchim. Acta 2011, 73, 51-7

IET Nanobiotechnol. 2009, 4, 10308

Pest Manag. Sci. 2011, 67, 83136

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Nano agricultural innovation team

Thanks