Deciphering physical and functional properties of chitosan-based particles for agriculture applications

Autor(es)

Mesas, Florencia Anabel ; Mendieta, Julieta Renee ; Nicolini, Andres Torres ; de Oliveira, Jhones Luiz ; Germano-Costa, Tais ; Bilesky-Jose, Natalia ; De Lima, Renata ; Fraceto, Leonardo Fernandes ; Alvarez, Vera Alejandra ; Terrile, Maria Cecilia

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules; v. 285, p. 11-pg., 2024-12-04.

Resumo

Traditional methods for controlling plant pathogens rely on toxic chemicals, posing environmental and health risks. Developing sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives is crucial. Chitosan (CS)-based materials offer promising solutions for sustainable agriculture. We aimed to synthesize and characterize CS-based microparticles with varying properties and assess their antimicrobial performance to establish correlations between variations in physicochemical characteristics and their impact on performance within biological systems. We adjusted the synthesis parameters, producing particles labeled P1, P2, and P3, which have sizes of 0.19 +/- 0.07 mu m, 0.45 +/- 0.32 mu m, and 1.22 +/- 0.32 mu m, and zeta potentials of +7.6 +/- 4.25 mV, +22 +/- 3.51 mV, and + 12.9 +/- 4.54 mV, respectively. Extensive toxicological screenings showed that these CS-based microparticles were non-toxic across cell cultures, mouse red blood cells, soil microbiota, nitrogen-cycling bacteria, and plant toxicity assays. Encouraged by these results, we evaluated their antimicrobial potential against economically important crop pathogens. The CS-based microparticles exhibited antimicrobial effects against the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and the fungus Fusarium solani f. sp. eumartii. Higher zeta potentials correlated with greater antimicrobial efficacy, evidenced by lower IC50 and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. These findings indicate that all three microparticles analyzed displayed antimicrobial activity against two economically significant crop pathogens, with P2 showing solid performance attributed to its physicochemical characteristics. Therefore, CS-based microparticles represent a promising, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly alternative for modern agriculture, with their biological activities potentially predictable through careful selection of physicochemical properties before the synthesis process. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 21/10639-5 - Centro de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade e Mudanças do Clima
• Beneficiário: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Centros de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão - CEPIDs
• Processo FAPESP: 22/03399-0 - Eco engenharia de tecnologias nano-habilitadas para proteção de plantas (ORGANIC)
• Beneficiário: Renata de Lima
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 17/21004-5 - Agricultura, micro/nanotecnologia e ambiente: da avaliação dos mecanismos de ação a estudos de transporte e toxicidade
• Beneficiário: Leonardo Fernandes Fraceto
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático