Cyclodextrin (CD) and its derivatives have practical applications in agriculture, especially in the field of pesticide adsorption. Pesticides refer to chemical agents used in agriculture to prevent and control pests and diseases, and regulate plant growth [1]. Removal of pesticide residues is crucial because they pose a threat to human health and the environment. Removing residual pesticides through adsorption materials is an effective method.
CDs can effectively encapsulate pesticide ingredients to form inclusion compounds. Therefore, CDs can be used to prepare adsorption materials to remove trace pesticides in complicated matrices, which points out a new direction for the preparation of pesticide adsorbents that are easy to recycle, separate, and regenerate. Fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, and herbicides are the four most commonly used pesticides. The following highlights the application of CD-based pesticide adsorbents to each of these four pesticides.
Fungicides
Fungicides are pesticides used in plant protection. Using fungicides to kill or prevent the growth of fungi and their spores is a cost-effective method. CDs can be applied to adsorbent materials to increase the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for inorganic and organic fungicides, thereby better removing pesticide residues.
- For instance, CD can form host-guest inclusion complexes with organic fungicides (triadimefon, paclobutrazol, fluorosilazole, and 4-tebuconazole), exhibiting outstanding adsorption capacity. On this basis, a novel β-CD modified Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe) composite (Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe)/β-CD) was prepared and utilized as an adsorbent for the removal of fungicides, as shown in Fig. 1 [2].
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe)/β-CD adsorbing fungicide [2].
Insecticides
Insecticides are pesticides used to control insects by killing them or preventing them from engaging in undesirable or destructive behaviors. Carbamate insecticides are commonly used insecticides with stable properties, which exert insecticidal effects for a long time. CDs can be modified to prepare CD-based adsorbent materials, which exhibit good adsorption capacity for carbamate insecticides.
- For instance, it is reported that allyl-β-CD and methacrylic acid (MAA) or allyl-β-CD and acrylonitrile (AN), were exploited in the fabrication of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to enrich pirimicarb which is a selective carbamate insecticide. Since pirimicarb can easily enter the cavity of CD to form a host-guest inclusion complex, MIP can selectively recognize and enrich pirimicarb in large quantities. The effect of binding capacity of MAA-linked allyl-β-CD MIPs demonstrated higher efficiency than that of AN-linked allyl-β-CD MIPs [3].
Plant Growth Regulators
Plant growth regulators are a class of pesticides used to control all factors in plant development and growth. Residues of plant growth regulators should be taken seriously because high residues can pose a direct or potential threat to human metabolism. CD can be used to prepare adsorbent materials that effectively enrich plant growth regulators.
- For instance, an efficient adsorbent (Fe3O4@SiO2/GO/β-CD/IL) composed of an ionic liquid (IL) and β-CD-modified magnetic graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized, as shown in Fig. 2. The adsorbent has high surface area, and high supramolecular recognition capability, which can selectively enrich trace levels of plant growth regulators. It exhibited high adsorption capability for several plant growth regulators, such as 2-naphthyloxyacetic acid (2-NOA), 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), and N6-(2-isopentenyl)-adenine (2IP) [4].
Fig. 2 Synthesis of Fe3O4@SiO2/GO/β-CD/IL [5]. (TEOS: Tetraethylorthosilicate;
APTES: 3-aminopropyltrieth-oxysilane)
Herbicides
Herbicides are commonly used pesticides for killing or inhibiting the growth of unwanted plants. Amide herbicides are currently the most widely used herbicides due to their relatively low toxicity and good weeding effects. Adsorbents synthesized based on CD may effectively promote the adsorption of amide herbicide residues to prevent environmental pollution because of its π-π interaction, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interaction.
- For instance, a multifunctional metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon material was synthesized from β-CD, which has a microporous structure, a large specific surface area, and strong thermal stability. It possesses the efficient adsorptive removal ability of amide herbicides, considering it a promising material for sustainable and economical agriculture [5].
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References
- Aksu, Z. Application of biosorption for the removal of organic pollutants: a review. Process Biochem. 2005,40(3): 997.
- Senosy, I. A.; et al. The post-modification of magnetic metal–organic frameworks with β-cyclodextrin for the efficient removal of fungicides from environmental water. Environ Sci Nano. 2020,7(7): 2087.
- He, C.; et al. Synthesis and application of selective adsorbent for pirimicarb pesticides in aqueous media using allyl-β-cyclodextrin based binary functional monomers. J Sci Food Agr. 2018, 98(6): 2089.
- Cao, S. R.; et al. A high efficient adsorbent for plant growth regulators based on ionic liquid and β-cyclodextrin functionalized magnetic graphene oxide. Talanta. 2019, 194:14
- Liu, C.; et al. Multifunctional β-cyclodextrin MOF-derived porous carbon as efficient herbicides adsorbent and potassium fertilizer. ACS Sustain Chem Eng. 2019,7(17): 14479.
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