Fate, uptake, and distribution of nanoencapsulated pesticides in soil–earthworm systems and implications for environmental risk assessment

Abstract

Nanopesticides are novel plant protection products offering numerous benefits. Because nanoparticles behave differently from dissolved chemicals, the environmental risks of these materials could differ from conventional pesticides. We used soil-earthworm systems to compare the fate and uptake of analytical-grade bifenthrin to that of bifenthrin in traditional and nanoencapsulated formulations. Apparent sorption coefficients for bifenthrin were up to 3.8 times lower in the nano treatments than in the non-nano treatments, whereas dissipation half-lives of the nano treatments were up to 2 times longer. Earthworms in the nano treatments accumulated approximately 50% more bifenthrin than those in the non-nano treatments. In the non-nano treatments, most of the accumulated material was found in the earthworm tissue, whereas in the nano treatments, the majority resided in the gut. Evaluation of toxicokinetic modeling approaches showed that models incorporating the release rate of bifenthrin from the nanocapsule and distribution within the earthworm provided the best estimations of uptake from the nano-formulations. Overall, our findings indicate that the risks of nanopesticides may be different from those of conventional formulations. The modeling presented provides a starting point for assessing risks of these materials but needs to be further developed to better consider the behavior of the nanoencapsulated pesticide within the gut system. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1420-1429. © 2018 SETAC.

Pesticide Encapsulation at the Nanoscale Drives Changes to the Hydrophobic Partitioning and Toxicity of an Active Ingredient

“…Given that the neonates used in this study are smaller than adults, a preferential uptake of particles under 500 nm is sensible and may result in increased ingestion of the SF when compared to the LF. One study found that nanoencapsulation increased the overall uptake of a pyrethroid in earthworms, but most of the active ingredient remained in the gut rather than being internalized [15]. If this were the case for the C. dubia , encapsulation could prevent a toxic response by preventing internalization of γ-cyhalothrin.…”

“…Further complicating our understanding of encapsulation technologies, capsules in the nanoscale (1–1000 nm) are garnering attention in pesticide literature [13,14,15,16] and have been observed in current-use formulations [17,18]. Nanoencapsulated formulas capitalize on the sheer diversity of nanomaterials available, including polymers, lipids, mesoporous silica, clay, and other materials [19,20,21].…”

NCs-Delivered Pesticides: A Promising Candidate in Smart Agriculture

“…The additional concerns and tests in risk assessment were suggested even all the ingredients of a certain nanoformulation was safe, because the nanopesticides with unique characteristics at nanoscale might have a distinct fate and behavior [ 1 ]. The evaluation of NCs toxicity still has difficulties and the toxicokinetics of NCs are also challenged [ 90 ]. Model predication on toxicokinetic might help us estimate toxic effects of NCs-delivered pesticides and other nanopesticides.…”

Sonication-Assisted Production of Fosetyl-Al Nanocrystals: Investigation of Human Toxicity and In Vitro Antibacterial Efficacy against Xylella fastidiosa

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