Acid-responsive natural amphiphile self-assembled nanoparticles with enhanced biointerface performance for tomato gray mold management.

Abstract

Conventional prochloraz (Pro) formulations suffer from poor stability, inadequate leaf deposition, and short persistence. In this work, we developed GA-Pro nanoparticles via ultrasound-assisted self-assembly of glycyrrhizic acid (GA), a natural amphiphile, and Pro. The 125.3 nm spherical nanoparticles, stabilized by hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, and van der Waals interactions, exhibited acid-responsive release (84.34% at pH 3.0 over 5 days) and enhanced photostability. GA-Pro significantly improved leaf interfacial performance, reducing surface tension to 46.1 mN/m, decreasing contact angle to 73.58 ° within 60 s, and increasing post-rain retention to 1.39-fold that of Pro EW. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated superior antifungal activity (EC50= 0.24 μg/mL) and 96.55% control efficacy, with metabolomics revealing enrichment of metabolic pathways associated with plant defense responses. Biosafety assessments confirmed low hemolysis, high cell viability, and no phytotoxicity. Overall, GA-Pro provides a promising biosafe, acid-responsive nanoplatform for tomato gray mold management.