Nutrient controlled release performance of bio-based coated fertilizer enhanced by synergistic effects of liquefied starch and siloxane.

The porous structure and hydrophilicity of coating shells affect the nutrient controlled-release performance of castor oil-based (CO) coated fertilizers. In order to solve these problems, in this study, the castor oil-based polyurethane (PCU) coating material was modified with liquefied starch polyol (LS) and siloxane, and a new coating material with cross-linked network structure and hydrophobic surface was synthesized, and used it to prepare the coated controlled-release urea (SSPCU). The results demonstrated that the cross-linked network formed by LS and CO improved the density and reduced the pores on the surface of the coating shells. The siloxane was grafted on the surface of coating shells to improve its hydrophobicity and thus delayed water entry. The nitrogen release experiment indicated that the synergistic effects of LS and siloxane improved the nitrogen controlled-release performance of bio-based coated fertilizers. Nutrient released longevity of SSPCU with 7 % coating percentage reached >63 days. Moreover, the nutrient release mechanism of coated fertilizer was further revealed by the analysis of the release kinetics analysis. Therefore, the results of this study provide a new idea and technical support for development of efficient and environment-friendly bio-based coated controlled-release fertilizers.

Synthesis and characterization of carboxymethyl chitosan/epoxidized soybean oil based conjugate catalyed by UV light, and its application as drug carrier for fusarium wilt.

In this paper, a cationic photoinitiator (TAS) was used as a catalyst for the ring opening reaction of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) under UV light to prepare CMCS-g-ESO conjugate, and the structure of the product was characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and GPC. Then, the spinosad-loaded microcapsules (SSD@CMCS-g-ESO) were prepared by ultrasonic self-assembly method. The results showed that TAS could catalyze the ring opening reaction of CMCS and ESO under UV-irradiation and the optimum reaction time was 1 h, with the molecular weight of 15,745. The average particle size of SSD@CMCS-g-ESO was about 2.16 µm, and the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug loading content (LC) of SSD@CMCS-g-ESO were 85.39 ± 2.05% and 20.17 ± 1.84%, respectively. In vitro release revealed that SSD@CMCS-g-ESO exhibited sustained-release and pH-responsive property, and the accumulative release in the buffer solution of pH = 6.5 and 7.4 was higher than in pH = 9.0. Furthermore, SSD@CMCS-g-ESO had a good antifungal properties against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) compared with the unencapsulated SSD at the same drug dose. This work indicated that photo-chemical reactions could be used to prepare bio-based carrier materials to construct drugs delivery system for targeted treatment of fusarium wilt.