No abstract

No abstract

The design of an ideal monodisperse microcapsulation system, which could meet the need for prolonged and better control of drug administration, is a great challenge. Herein cyanobacteria cells served as a natural environmentally-friendly wall material to encapsulate the fungicide tebuconazole (TEB), and then ureaformaldehyde (UF) resins were automatically coated on it via electrostatic interactions. By this means, monodisperse TEB-PCC@UF microcapsules were achieved, which not only can effectively control the drug release rate but also depress the initial "burst effect" to some degree. A bioactivity experiment showed that TEB-PCC@UF microcapsules authentically prolonged the antifungal effects, and were very efficacious in controlling wheat powdery mildew compared with the commercial formulation.

The utilization of intelligent controlled release technology to create stimuli-responsive pesticide formulations has been shown to effectively improve pesticide efficacy and reduce environmental pollution. Herein, a glutathione-responsive release polyurea (PU) microcapsules (MCs) loaded with pyraclostrobin were developed via the interface polymerization method. The pyraclostrobin-loaded PU-MCs showed a regular spherical shape with an average diameter of 480 nm. It also showed good thermal stability and rheological properties. Furthermore, the pyraclostrobin-loaded PU-MCs exhibited favorable wettability on wheat leaves, which was beneficial for enhancing the retention capacity of pesticide droplets and improving pesticide utilization. The pyraclostrobin can be released from MCs and directly proportional to glutathione (GSH) concentrations with Fickian diffusion. Importantly, the control efficacy of pyraclostrobin-loaded PU-MCs against Fusarium graminearum was positively correlated with GSH, indicating a promising candidate for a controlled release of pesticides in agriculture and laying the foundation for further field experiments.