Jie Hu,Changwei Gong,Yan Jia,Hui Feng,Jinfeng Chen,Ge Qin,Ao Liang,Anchun Peng,Yanyan Huang,Mengmeng Sun,Hanbing Rao,Xuegui Wang
The construction of controlled-release formulations improves the sustained-release performance and utilization efficiency of pesticides, which are important aspects in plant protection and environmental chemistry. The current study employs kasugamycin (Kas), which is widely used to control Magnaporthe oryzae, conjugated with carboxyl-functionalized ZnO quantum dots via amide linkages to yield a pH-responsive pesticide delivery system (Kas@ZnO). Physicochemical characterizations indicated the successful preparation of the Kas@ZnO nanoparticles. In vitro drug release assessments indicated that Kas@ZnO exhibited a loading capacity of 21.05% and could effect the controlled release of Kas in an acidic environment, which is beneficial given the unique acidic microenvironment of M. oryzae. Bioactivity assays demonstrated that Kas@ZnO could simultaneously inhibit mycelial growth and spore germination. Additionally, bioactivity tests showed that the control efficacy of Kas@ZnO against rice blast reached 67.43% after 14 days of in vivo spray inoculation, which was higher than that obtained with Kas (55.50%), suggesting improved beneficial effects of Kas@ZnO application over a prolonged duration. Moreover, Kas@ZnO enhanced the activity of defense-related enzymes in rice and upregulated the expression of defense-related genes, such as OsPR2, OsPR3, OsPR5, OsWRKY45, OsLYP6, and OsNAC4. Ultimately, the biosafety assessments revealed that Kas@ZnO did not exert any harmful effects on rice and demonstrated slight toxicity toward zebrafish. These findings indicate that Kas@ZnO can function as a pH-sensitive pesticide delivery system, allowing for targeted release of the pesticide within plant tissues. This technology demonstrates significant potential for eco-friendly plant disease management.
Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer material, which has been widely used in film making and food packaging in recent years. However, lignin, a natural bioaromatic material, is always applied as a waste resource due to its low utilization efficiency. In this study, a ZnCl2/CaCl2/cellulose mixed system was used to prepare film materials via a regeneration method. The chemical structure and corresponding properties were characterized. The thermal decomposition process of film materials showed that with an increase of the heating rate, the maximum weight loss temperature gradually shifted to the higher-temperature region. Additionally, the combination of lignin with cellulose as composite films can effectively improve thermal stability. Furthermore, kinetics methods such as Kissing–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and Friedman were used to calculate the average activation energy (E). This study proposed a facile method for preparing biobased multifunctional composite films using two kinds of naturally renewable materials.
Wenmei Tao,Wenyan Duan,Chunbo Liu,Dongdong Zhu,Xiaoxi Si,Ruizhi Zhu,Patryk Oleszczuk,Bo Pan
The presence of persistent free radicals (PFR) in biochars may greatly broaden the application of biochars in pollution control , but may also cause negative impacts to the environment. Understanding the structural basis and the formation mechanisms of PFR is essential for a targeted biochar production and application. This study used rice straw (RS), a ubiquitous agricultural waste , to investigate the generation processes of PFR in relation to RS pyrolysis kinetics. Based on a detailed thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis, the activation energy was calculated by Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) methods. This work combined pyrolysis kinetics analysis and solid particle characterization. Our results showed that lignin started to pyrolyze at a lower temperature than cellulose and hemicellulose. Lignin was the main factor for PFR generation. Chemical bond breaking contributed only slightly to PFR formation. The reconfiguration of the carbonaceous structures may be a more important contributor to PFR formation, while the cross-linking between different compositions and the interactions between the chemical compositions and inorganic minerals may play a significant role for PFR generation and stabilization in RS. This study provides useful theoretical basis to understand the thermal pyrolysis process of RS and the manipulation of biochar properties.