Organosilica-based deformable nanopesticides with enhanced insecticidal activity prepared by flash nanoprecipitation

Deformable materials have attracted intensive research interest due to their special soft framework structure, high surface areas, large void spaces, and potential applications in agricultural and biomedical fields. In this work, we demonstrate a flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) method for fabricating novel deformable hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (HMONs) by employing a versatile multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM). The synthesized HMONs possessed a high surface area (571.1 m(2) g(-1)), a narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.03), and a large hollow cavity. The particle sizes (457-629 nm) of the HMONs could be tuned by easily controlling the mixing Reynolds (Re) number. More importantly, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results revealed that the as-obtained HMONs were deformable in solution. The deformable HMONs possessed a lower Young's modulus (EY) of 53.20 MPa as compared to non-deformable HMONs (176.55 MPa). The deformable HMONs were further loaded with abamectin (Abm), which showed improved affinity to the leaf surface, as well as enhanced insecticidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita, demonstrating great promise for sustainable agricultural applications.

Automated summary

In this study, a flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) method using a versatile multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM) was used to fabricate deformable hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (HMONs). The synthesized HMONs had high surface area (571.1 m(2) g(-1)), narrow size distribution (PDI = 0.03), and large hollow cavity. The particle sizes (457-629 nm) of the HMONs could be controlled by adjusting the mixing Reynolds (Re) number. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results revealed the deformability of the HMONs in solution. The deformable HMONs, with lower Young's modulus (EY) of 53.20 MPa compared to non-deformable HMONs (176.55 MPa), showed improved affinity to the leaf surface and enhanced insecticidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita, demonstrating great potential for sustainable agricultural applications.