Recently, Professor Fan Jianting, Chief Technology Director of our company and a faculty member at Zhejiang A&F University, published a research paper titled "Binary collaboration of carboxyl-functionalized mesoporous silica microspheres and silver nanoparticles improved imidacloprid bioactivity towards insecticide-resistant insect pests" in the internationally authoritative journal *Chemical Engineering Journal* (a top-tier journal in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Category 1, with a five-year impact factor of 13.2). Young faculty member Lü Nannan and graduate student He Haixiao are the co-first authors of the paper, while Professor Fan Jianting and Professor Chen Jie are the corresponding authors. The College of Forestry and Biotechnology at Zhejiang A&F University is the first affiliation and corresponding author unit of the paper.
In pest control, the use of insecticides is an irreplaceable method. However, the high selective pressure of insecticides exacerbates the issue of pest resistance. Nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery systems can enhance insecticidal efficacy and reduce the environmental risks of chemical insecticides, showing significant potential in pest control. Although an increasing number of studies are dedicated to the development of novel nano-pesticides, few have focused on nanoparticle-mediated insecticide delivery systems with binary synergistic effects.
This study constructed a binary synergistic insecticide delivery system using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with significant antimicrobial activity and mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with efficient drug delivery capabilities. This delivery system targets gut microorganisms capable of degrading imidacloprid, enhancing the insecticidal effect by inhibiting the abundance of these gut microbes. On the other hand, the system significantly improves the wettability, adhesion, and permeability of plant leaves compared to the chemical insecticide imidacloprid itself, thereby exhibiting higher targeting efficiency and persistence. Safety assessments of this delivery system revealed that it is relatively safer for natural enemy insects compared to imidacloprid, demonstrating its lower environmental risk. This research enriches the development of binary synergistic nanoparticle-mediated insecticide delivery systems and contributes to the scientific control of resistant pests.
The findings of this study provide a solid theoretical foundation for our company's further development of nano-pesticides and nano-attractants.