Bioactivity, Uptake, and Distribution of Prothioconazole Loaded on Fluorescent Double-Hollow Shelled Mesoporous Silica in Soybean Plants

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c00200
• Publication Date: 2023-03-10T07:29:06Z
• Authors: Jingyuan Wang; Rong Li; Zongyuan Zhao; Meiqing Zhu; Yi Wang
• Keywords: Drug Carriers; Glycine max; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Nanoparticles; Silicon Dioxide; Porosity; Chromatography, Liquid

Prothioconazole (PTC) has been widely utilized for plant fungal disease control, but its metabolite prothioconazole-desthio (PTC-d) exhibits reproductive toxicity. In the present study, carbon quantum dot (CQD)-modified fluorescent double-hollow shelled mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FL-MSNs) loaded with PTC, referred to as PTC@FL-MSNs, were constructed with an average size of 369 nm and a loading capacity of 28.1 wt %, which could increase the antifungal efficiency of PTC. In addition, upright fluorescence microscope and UPLC-MS/MS studies showed that PTC@FL-MSNs could be effectively transported via root uptake and foliar spray in soybean plants. Compared to a 30% PTC dispersible oil suspension agent, the PTC@FL-MSN treatment group showed higher concentrations (leaves: 0.50 > 0.48 mg/kg), longer half-lives for degradation (leaves: 3.62 > 3.21 d; roots: 3.39 > 2.82 d), and fewer metabolites. These findings suggest that sustained pesticide release and toxicity reduction are potential applications for PTC nanofungicide delivery technology.