Molecular co-assembly engineering towards natural tea saponin-based nanopesticides for synergistic enhanced foliar affinity.

Metadata-grounded summary

Citation abstract

BACKGROUND: Emerging as transformative agricultural nanotechnologies, nanopesticides have brought unique opportunities for optimal pesticide efficacy because of their inherent properties. However, existing nanopesticides are often plagued by costly and toxic carrier materials, as well as limitations in preparation techniques.

RESULTS: Here, we report a facile and scalable flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) approach, based on molecular co-assembly engineering of natural tea saponin (TS) and tannic acid (TA), to synthesize abamectin (Abm) nanopesticides (Abm@TS/TA nanopesticides). The developed FNP approach circumvented the limitations of batch processing by enabling controllable and continuous production of Abm@TS/TA nanopesticides with a total flow rate of 8640 mL h -1. More importantly, co-assembly of natural carriers with Abm has been harnessed to achieve synergistic nanopesticides of uniform spherical structure, excellent stability, favorable sustained-release properties, and comparable biological efficacy against Tetranychus urticae. Moreover, the synergistic interfacial properties of the engineered nanopesticides demonstrate improved leaf affinity and retention on plant surfaces compared with conventional formulations.

CONCLUSION: This work establishes an expandable and efficacious approach for deploying eco-friendly nanopesticide systems for sustainable agricultural applications. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.