Efeito da associação do herbicida clomazone a nanoesferas de alginato/quitosana na sorção em solos

Agrochemicals constitute the class of products most commonly found in water resources. Their high level of concentration is due to the fact that less than 0.1% of pesticides applied to crops reach their target. The present work aims to study the sorption of clomazone herbicide (associated or not with nanoparticles). The sorption tests, performed with the 2(4) factorial design, showed that the form of herbicide is the main factor for sorption of clomazone. The application of nanoparticles as delivery system for agrochemicals is a pressing area of study and can contribute for decrease in effects of clomazone in the environment.

Paraquat-loaded alginate/chitosan nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization and soil sorption studies

Agrochemicals are amongst the contaminants most widely encountered in surface and subterranean hydrological systems. They comprise a variety of molecules, with properties that confer differing degrees of persistence and mobility in the environment, as well as different toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic potentials, which can affect non-target organisms including man. In this work, alginate/chitosan nanoparticles were prepared as a carrier system for the herbicide paraquat. The preparation and physicochemical characterization of the nanoparticles was followed by evaluation of zeta potential, pH, size and polydispersion. The techniques employed included transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The formulation presented a size distribution of 635 +/- 12 nm, polydispersion of 0.518, zeta potential of -22.8 +/- 2.3 mV and association efficiency of 74.2%. There were significant differences between the release profiles of free paraquat and the herbicide associated with the alginate/chitosan nanoparticles. Tests showed that soil sorption of paraquat, either free or associated with the nanoparticles. was dependent on the quantity of organic matter present. The results presented in this work show that association of paraquat with alginate/chitosan nanoparticles alters the release profile of the herbicide, as well as its interaction with the soil, indicating that this system could be an effective means of reducing negative impacts caused by paraquat. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.