Self-Assembled Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles as Pesticide Delivery Vectors for Controlling Trunk-Boring Pests

Abstract

Trunk-boring pests (TBPs) are an important type of forest pest, TBPs not only feed on the branches and trunks of trees, but also spread quarantine diseases in forests. However, because the larvae of TBPs live inside the trunk and are well concealed, prevention and control are difficult. The lack of effective control methods leads to the death of many trees in forests. In this study, a novel nanopesticide featuring high bioactivity and slow-release properties was developed to control TBPs. Thiacloprid (THI), which is commonly used to control Coleoptera species, was used as a model pesticide. The oleophobic properties of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were exploited to encapsulate the hydrophobic pesticide THI by self-assembly, and the size of the obtained nanoparticles, THI@BSA·NPs, was approximately 23 nm. The loading efficiency reached 70.4%, and THI@BSA·NPs could be released continuously for over 15 d, with the cumulative release reaching 93.5%. The fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled nanoparticles were evenly distributed in the digestive tract and body surface of a typical TBP, M. alternatus , and the stomach and contact toxicities increased by 33.7% and 25.9%,respectively, compared with those of free THI. Furthermore, the results showed that the transport efficiency of THI@BSA·NPs was highest at a concentration of 50 μg/mL, and the THI@BSA·NPs content in the trunk, from to lower to higher layers, was 8.8, 8.2, 7.6, and 5.8 μg/g. At the same time, THI@BSA·NPs also exhibited high transport efficiency in dead trees. The results suggested that these novel self-assembled THI@BSA·NPs have promising potential for sustainable control of TBPs.

Synthesis and physicochemical characterization of rhamnolipid fabricated fucoxanthin loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles supported by simulation studies

“…The presence of rough spherical surface of NPs, indicates that rhamnolipid is present on the surface of NPs. Previously there are several reports where researchers have used desolvation method to synthesize albumin NPs in various size range (600 ± 60 nm, 13 108.6 ± 342 nm and 100 nm 43 ). However, we have got the particle size of control NPs (Fig.…”

Recent advances in the design of controlled- and sustained-release micro/nanocarriers of pesticide

“…Protein. Proteins (such as zein, 153 soybean protein, 154 feather keratin 155 and bovine serum albumin (BSA) 156 ) have a unique spatial structure to realize drug loading, but also have good biodegradability and biocompatibility. 27 Zein nanoparticles were prepared by an antisolvent precipitation method as an ecofriendly carrier system for packaging botanical repellents geraniol (GRL) and R-citronellal (R-CTL).…”

Enhanced and sustained pesticidal activity of a graphene‐based pesticide delivery system against the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella

“…Previous studies have shown that more than 90% of pesticides applied are lost following their application 3 . Such low efficiency encourages the repeated application and abuse of pesticides, which poses major risks to the production of food and the environment 4–6 . There is thus a need to develop agrochemical products that are both efficient and environmentally friendly.…”

“…3 Such low efficiency encourages the repeated application and abuse of pesticides, which poses major risks to the production of food and the environment. [4][5][6] There is thus a need to develop agrochemical products that are both efficient and environmentally friendly. The development of nanomaterials-based pesticide delivery systems (PDSs) and nanoformulations in recent years has provided new approaches for overcoming many of the drawbacks associated with traditional pesticide formulations.…”