Tebuconazole residue in wheat and food risks: Comparison among nano and conventional formulations.

Nanopesticides exhibit different residue patterns in crops after application compared to conventional formulations, thus affecting human dietary exposure. Residue, dissipation, and dietary exposure to tebuconazole nanoformulations (nanoemulsion and nano-capsules) and conventional formulations (suspension concentrate and micro-capsules) on wheat were investigated and compared. Nano-capsules (1950 μg/kg) and micro-capsules (1771 μg/kg) had significantly lower initial deposition on wheat-leaf than suspension concentrate (2666 μg/kg). No significant differences were observed in initial deposition on wheat-stem and wheat-grain between nano and conventional formulations. The degradation half-lives of suspension concentrate, nanoemulsion, nano-capsules, and micro-capsules were 1.5-11.4 d, 7.6-25.7 d, 4.1-12.4 d, and 7.5-22.4 d, respectively. Nanoemulsion, with the lowest surface tension, was highly stable and persistent, resulting in the highest final residues on wheat-leaf (695 μg/kg). Risk quotients for all formulations were about 28 %, indicating acceptable dietary risks. These findings offer valuable insights into the application of nanopesticides and contribute to mitigating the associated health risks.