Photodynamic Inactivation in agriculture: combating fungal phytopathogens resistant to conventional treatment.

Botrytis cinerea is a severe threat in agriculture, as it can infect over 200 different crop species with gray mold affecting food yields and quality. The conventional treatment using fungicides lead to emerging resistance over the past decades. Here, we introduce Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) as a strategy to combat B.

Fly into the light: eliminating Drosophila melanogaster with chlorophyllin-based Photodynamic Inactivation.

Fruit flies spoil crops in agricultural settings. As conventional pesticides may generate negative off-target effects on humans or the environment, existing treatment methods need eco-friendly and safe alternatives. Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) is based on the photosensitizer-mediated and light-induced overproduction of reactive oxygen species in targets.

Alkylated EDTA potentiates antibacterial photodynamic activity of protoporphyrin.

Antibiotic resistance has garnered significant attention due to the scarcity of new antibiotics in development. Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX)-mediated photodynamic therapy shows promise as a novel antibacterial strategy, serving as an alternative to antibiotics. However, the poor solubility of PpIX and its tendency to aggregate greatly hinder its photodynamic efficacy.

Low Molecular Weight Shuttle Molecules Enhance Polychloramide Antimicrobial Activity.

Investigated were the influences of succinimide (SI), 5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH), and 3-(hydroxymethyl)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (HDMH) on the biocidal activity of chlorinated, water-soluble polyamide prepared by the reaction of isopropylamine with poly(styrene--maleic anhydride). The resulting polymer was a negatively charged, water-soluble polymer bearing a carboxylic acid and an isopropylamide moiety on nearly every repeat unit. Subsequent treatment with NaOCl chlorinated the polymers to up to 4.

Overview of methods and considerations for the photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms for agricultural applications.

Antimicrobial resistance in agriculture is a global concern and carries huge financial consequences. Despite that, practical solutions for growers that are sustainable, low cost and environmentally friendly have been sparse. This has created opportunities for the agrochemical industry to develop pesticides with novel modes of action.

Impacts of non-microbial soils on polychloramide disinfectants.

The presence of some nonmicrobial chemicals and surfaces, herein called "soils", are known to degrade the performance of biocides, and biocidal assays often include mixtures of materials to mimic the effects of soils. We hypothesized that water-soluble anionic polychloramide biocides were less sensitive to soil interference than cationic polymeric biocides. The relationships between soil composition and antimicrobial polymer biocidal activity were compared for an anionic polychloramide, a cationic polychloramide, and a cationic poly(quaternary ammonium) biocide.

Efficacy of Oil and Photosensitizer against in Greenhouse Sweet Pepper.

Many common insect pests have developed resistance against the pesticides currently available, to the point where pest and disease management has become extremely difficult and expensive, increasing pressure on agriculture and food production. There is an urgent need to explore and utilize alternatives. Due to their unique mode of action, photosensitizers may be able to control insect pests effectively, especially in combination with oil-based products, without the risk of resistance build-up.

Fabrication, Characterization and Uptake of Engineered Surfactant Nanovesicles for the Delivery of the Biostimulant Sodium Copper Chlorophyllin.

Effective delivery of agrochemicals requires control over bioactive release kinetics coupled with effective penetration of the bioactive into plants. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of hybrid nanovesicles based on sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) for enabling effective delivery of the biostimulant sodium copper chlorophyllin (Cu-chl) into plants. SDBS-CTAB nanovesicles exhibited a particle size of 107 nm with a well-defined spherical morphology, while modified formulations that included small fractions of the unsaturated dopant Span 80 yielded larger nanovesicles that were softer and more irregular in shape.

Photosensitizer to the rescue: in planta and field application of photodynamic inactivation against plant pathogenic bacteria.

Control of plant pathogens using chemical and synthetic pesticides raises a major safety concern for humans and the environment. Despite the ongoing exploration of sustainable alternative methods, management practices for pathogens, especially bacteria, have remained almost unchanged over decades, whereby long-term uses of copper and antibiotics has led to widespread bacterial resistance in the field. Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI) of bacteria is emerging as an alternative strategy to combat resistant plant pathogens.

Breaking the Rebellion: Photodynamic Inactivation against Resistant to Streptomycin.

Global crop production depends on strategies to counteract the ever-increasing spread of plant pathogens. Antibiotics are often used for large-scale treatments. As a result, , causal agent of the contagious fire blight disease, has already evolved resistance to streptomycin (Sm).

Water-soluble anionic polychloramide biocides based on maleic anhydride copolymers.

Our goal was to develop film-forming polymers to extend the antimicrobial lifetimes of cleaned and disinfected surfaces. Antimicrobial polymers were prepared by first reacting poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) with isopropylamine, partially consuming the anhydride groups, followed by hydrolysis to give water-soluble, highly anionic polyamide PC3. Chlorination with NaOCl gave PC3Cl with oxidative chlorine contents up to 9 wt%.

Photodynamic Inactivation of plant pathogens part II: fungi.

The constantly increasing demand for agricultural produce from organic and conventional farming calls for new, sustainable, and biocompatible solutions for crop protection. The overuse of fungicides leading to contamination of both produce and environment and the emergence of plant pathogenic fungi that are resistant to conventional treatments warrant the need for new methods to combat fungal infections in the field. We here deliver the follow-up study to our research on the Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) of plant pathogenic bacteria (Glueck et al.

A Plant Based Modified Biostimulant (Copper Chlorophyllin), Mediates Defense Response in under Salinity Stress.

To date, managing salinity stress in agriculture relies heavily on development of salt tolerant plant varieties, a time-consuming process particularly challenging for many crops. Plant based biostimulants (PBs) that enhance plant defenses under stress can potentially address this drawback, as they are not crop specific and are easy to apply in the field. Unfortunately, limited knowledge about their modes of action makes it harder to utilize them on a broader scale.

Preventing the release of copper chlorophyllin from crop spray deposits on hydrophobic surfaces.

Unlabelled: The chlorophyll derivative copper chlorophyllin and related chlorins have promise as environmentally friendly agricultural chemicals, however, spray application is hindered by the propensity of dried spray deposits to wash off leaf surfaces during rain or irrigation.

Hypothesis: Polyelectrolyte complexes formed between anionic carboxymethyl cellulose and cationic polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin can prevent the release of copper chlorophyllin from dried spray deposits on leaf surfaces when exposed to water.

Experiments: Sessile drops on parafilm and containing polyelectrolyte complex and copper chlorophyllin or Brilliant Sulfaflavine, an anionic water-soluble dye, were dried to form deposits that were physical models for crop spray drop deposits on hydrophobic leaf surfaces.

Save the crop: Photodynamic Inactivation of plant pathogens I: bacteria.

The ever growing world-population poses challenges concerning the need for more food free of pesticide residues. The most common means to control plant pathogens is through the application of pesticides, which raises concerns over safety for humans and the environment. Recently, Photodynamic Inactivation (PDI) of microorganisms using natural photosensitizers has shown itself to be a powerful tool to combat bacteria and fungi.