Microfluidic Manipulation Enabling Controllable and Eco-Friendly Lambda-Cyhalothrin Nanopesticides for Highly Efficient Pest Control

Abstract

Nanopesticides have emerged as a highly promising approach for plant protection. Importantly, their preparation process plays a crucial role in determining their particle characteristics and impacting crop protection efficacy. Unfortunately, current nanopesticides exhibit predominantly large size distributions and uncontrollable morphologies, leading to unpredictable protection efficacy. Microfluidics allows one to manipulate fluids in microchannels with precise controllability. Herein, we employed microfluidic technology to systematically investigate key preparation parameters and prepared the zein-loaded lambda-cyhalothrin (LC) (LC@Zein) nanopesticides successfully. The produced LC@Zein exhibited size controllability, high uniformity, excellent storage stability, and sustained release. Importantly, the insecticidal activity of LC@Zein against Spodoptera exigua was demonstrated to be higher than that of two commercial formulations, microemulsion and emulsion in water. Moreover, LC@Zein exhibited higher biological safety compared to the two commercial formulations in earthworm acute toxicity and rabbit acute eye irritation tests, suggesting its excellent eco-friendly properties and contributing to green agriculture development.