0000000000064345
AUTHOR
Doungporn Yiamsawas
Targeted Drug Delivery in Plants: Enzyme‐Responsive Lignin Nanocarriers for the Curative Treatment of the Worldwide Grapevine Trunk Disease Esca
Abstract Nanocarrier (NC)‐mediated drug delivery is widely researched in medicine but to date has not been used in agriculture. The first curative NC‐based treatment of the worldwide occurring grapevine trunk disease Esca, with more than 2 billion infected plants causing a loss yearly of $1.5 billion, is presented. To date, only repetitive spraying of fungicides is used to reduce chances of infection. This long‐term treatment against Esca uses minimal amounts of fungicide encapsulated in biobased and biodegradable lignin NCs. A single trunk injection of <10 mg fungicide results in curing of an infected plant. Only upon Esca infection, ligninolytic enzymes, secreted by the Esca‐associated fu…
Biodegradable lignin nanocontainers
The abundant biomaterial lignin was used to prepare hollow nanocapsules by interfacial polyaddition in inverse miniemulsions. These cross-linked lignin nanocontainers can be loaded with hydrophilic substances which can be released by an enzymatic trigger from natural plant extracts revealing them as potential nanocontainers for agricultural applications.
Drug Delivery in Plants: Targeted Drug Delivery in Plants: Enzyme-Responsive Lignin Nanocarriers for the Curative Treatment of the Worldwide Grapevine Trunk Disease Esca (Adv. Sci. 15/2019)
In article number 1802315, Jochen Fischer, Frederik R. Wurm, and co‐workers report the first nanocarrier‐mediated drug delivery in plants. Enzyme‐degradable lignin nanocarriers are injected into the trunks of grapevine plants. They release a fungicide selectively inside of the plants and are able to cure the worldwide fungal plant disease Esca for the first time. This strategy will reduce the extensive spraying of pesticides in agriculture. Image credit: Katharina Maisenbacher.