Value-added use of corn byproducts as nanocarriers of biopesticides

Lingling Liu

According to USDOE’s report, there are around 100 million dry tons of primary crop residues every year, of which more than 75% is corn stover. Therefore, investigation of value-added use of corn stover can increase environmental and economic sustainability. With a cellulose content of ~43%, corn stover is a widely available low-cost source for preparation of nanocellulose which is an emerging green chemical with versatile applications. Nanocellulose, a nanoscale cellulosic material with at least one dimension less than 100 nm, has been shown to be an effective nanoencapsulation agent for natural antimicrobials, drugs, and bioactive compounds with sustained release capacity. Due to its large specific surface area, high viscosity, safety, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, nanocellulose has been a very hot research topic in recent years. However, so far there has been limited research studies investigating the usage of nanocellulose as carriers of pesticides. In addition, available research studies on preparation of nanocellulose from corn stover have barely studied its applications. Therefore, in the proposed study, we target at filling these knowledge gaps, by studying the physicochemical properties (including morphological, interfacial properties, and emulsion stabilization properties) of corn stover-derived nanocellulose and investigating its application as a nanocarrier for efficient encapsulation of biopesticides with sustained release properties and enhanced efficacy. The nanoencapsulated biopesticide will greatly improve the effectiveness of biopesticides, significantly reduce the amount of pesticide use, and reduce the potential hazards of chemical pesticide accumulation in the food chain. The proposed project targets the proposal option ‘Level 4’, priority ‘New uses that advance corn and/or co-product conversion to value-added products (i.e., green chemicals, fuels, nutrient sources, oil, acids, feed sources, etc.)’.