Prodrug self-assemblies based on acifluorfen and glucose for improving the effective utilization and reducing the risks to environment

Herbicides hold an indispensable position in contemporary agriculture due to their characteristics of high efficiency, rapid action, and convenience. However, herbicides frequently encounter a low utilization rate resulted from poor leaf retention and inadequate systemic translocation, which poses high risks to the environment and human health. Herein, two prodrugs (AGPs) were synthesized by conjugating acifluorfen (ACI) with glucose through ester bonds and subsequently self-assembled into AGP nanoparticles (AGP NPs) through multiple noncovalent forces. The results indicated that AGP NPs without the addition of any additive exhibited exceptional physicochemical properties including good stability, low surface tension, and high maximum retention on plant leaves. Due to variation in chemical structure, monomeric AGP NPs displayed an improved systemic translocation capacity within the plant, while pentameric AGP NPs showed an enhanced leaf permeability. Additionally, AGP NPs exhibited superior herbicidal efficacies in both greenhouse and field than that of ACI sodium salt with significantly reduced leaching properties, unaltered effects on urease activity in soil, unchanged genotoxicity to plant cells, and excellent biosafety to soybean seedlings. Therefore, this prodrug self-assembly technology would provide a promising strategy for improving the effective utilization of herbicides and reducing the risks to the environment.