Tannic Acid Interfacial Modification of Prochloraz Ethyl Cellulose Nanoparticles for Enhancing the Antimicrobial Effect and Biosafety of Fungicides

Withthe poorly soluble and intrinsically unstable feature, prochloraz(Pro) was confronted with lower bioavailability in the crop defenseagainst fungal erosion. Therefore, it was a challenging project toexplore the innovative antifungal compound delivery system for improvingbioavailability. The superior adhesive fungicide formulation was supposedto be an efficient pathway to enhance transmembrane permeability andbiological activity. According to abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups,tannic acid (TA) was an ideal modified adhesive biomaterial to improveinterfacial interactions. The fundamental purpose of this researchwas focused on the synergistic mechanism of TA-interfacial-modifiedpro-ethyl cellulose (EC) nanoparticles for improving bioavailabilityand biosafety. In the stability test, TA-modified Pro-EC nanoparticleshad the capacity to reduce Pro initial release burst, extending apersistent validity and improving anti-photodegradation property.The toxicity index of Pro-EC and Pro-EC-TA was approximately 2.93-foldand 4.96-fold that of raw Pro against Fusarium graminearum(F. graminearum), respectively. Compared with nonmodifiedEC nanoparticles, TA-modified EC nanoparticles obtained eminent transmembranepermeability and superior adherence ability to F. graminearum, for hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of TA to enhance interaction withtarget cell membranes. The contents of cellular reactive oxygen speciesinduced by Pro-EC and Pro-EC-TA nanoparticles were about 2.31 timesand 3.00 times that of the control check (CK), respectively. Comparedto the CK group, the membrane potential and ergosterol values of F. graminearum treated with Pro-EC-TA nanoparticleswere drastically reduced by 74.91 and 56.20%, respectively. In thebiosafety assay, the maximum half-lethal concentration value of theTA-modified Pro-EC nanoparticles indicated that the acute toxicityof the Pro-EC-TA nanoparticles to adult zebrafish was approximately8.34-fold reduced compared to that of the Pro technical. These findingsdemonstrated that the successful interfacial modification of Pro-ECnanoparticles with TA was a highly efficient, environmentally safe,and promising alternative for sustainable agricultural application,thus making the fungicide formulation process more simplified, easierfabrication, and lower cost.

Automated summary

This study focused on the synergistic mechanism of tannic acid (TA)-interfacial-modified pro-ethyl cellulose (EC) nanoparticles for improving the bioavailability and biosafety of prochloraz (Pro). The TA-modified Pro-EC nanoparticles exhibited superior transmembrane permeability and adherence ability to the fungal strain Fusarium graminearum, resulting in increased reactive oxygen species production and decreased membrane potential and ergosterol content. Additionally, the toxicity of the TA-modified nanoparticles to adult zebrafish was significantly reduced compared to raw Pro. These findings suggest that the interfacial modification of Pro-EC nanoparticles with TA is a promising and environmentally safe approach for sustainable agricultural applications.