Polymer Nanoparticles for Agricultural Active Ingredient Solubilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural active ingredient formulations face inefficiencies due to low water solubility, poor translocation through plants, and the need for additional surfactants and solvents, which can have toxicological and environmental drawbacks.
Innovation Solution
The development of polymer nanoparticles that associate with agricultural active ingredients, such as acaracides and fungicides, to enhance their performance by improving solubility, translocation, and reducing the need for surfactants and solvents, using methods like electromagnetic radiation-induced cross-linking and specific polymer compositions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional agricultural active ingredient formulations are used, then application can be performed, but water solubility is low and additional surfactants and solvents are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses polymer nanoparticles as intermediary carriers to solubilize hydrophobic active ingredients. The nanoparticles have hydrophilic exteriors that interact with water and hydrophobic interiors that encapsulate the active ingredient, acting as a mediator between the incompatible phases without requiring additional surfactants or solvents.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and surface properties of the active ingredient by encapsulating it within polymer nanoparticles. This transformation from bulk material to nanoscale encapsulated form fundamentally alters its solubility parameters, allowing water-insoluble compounds to disperse in aqueous environments.
2Productivity
If conventional formulations with surfactants and solvents are used, then active ingredients can be delivered, but toxicological and environmental drawbacks occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates harmful surfactants and solvents from the formulation by using polymer nanoparticles as the sole delivery vehicle. The nanoparticles themselves provide the necessary delivery function without requiring additional chemical additives that pose toxicological or environmental risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards conventional harmful formulation ingredients in favor of biocompatible polymer nanoparticles that can be degraded or recovered, reducing environmental persistence and toxicity while maintaining delivery efficiency.
3Reliability
If polymer nanoparticles are used to improve solubility and translocation, then targeted release and reduced usage are enabled, but nanoparticle production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates the active ingredient into the polymer nanoparticle structure during the nanoparticle formation process itself, rather than requiring subsequent modification steps. This preliminary incorporation ensures targeted release capability is built-in from the start, simplifying the overall manufacturing workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the active ingredient incorporation step with the nanoparticle formation step into a single integrated process. By merging these operations, the patent eliminates separate formulation steps while achieving both nanoparticle formation and active ingredient loading simultaneously.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The polymer nanoparticles improve the solubility and translocation of active ingredients, enabling targeted release and reduced usage, while maintaining efficacy and minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
dissolving a polyelectrolyte into an aqueous solution under solution conditions that render it charged, adding a species that is oppositely charged under these conditions to cause the polymer to collapse
Implementation Method 2
the crosslinking step is accomplished by one of the following: electromagnetic radiation induced cross-linking
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
The invention provides a composition comprising a polymer nanoparticle and at least one agricultural active compound associated with the polymer nanoparticle, wherein the polymer nanoparticle is less than 100 nm in diameter and is cross-linked, and wherein the polymer nanoparticle comprises a collapsed, water-soluble polyelectrolyte that has a molecular weight of at least about 100,000 Dalton.