pH/chitinase dual stimuli‐responsive essential oil‐delivery system based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles for control of rice blast

Abstract BACKGROUND Owing to their surface modifiability, smart mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) can be designed to respond to plant disease‐microenvironmental stimuli, thereby achieving on‐demand release of active ingredients to control disease by effectively improving citral (CT) stability. RESULTS A pH/chitinase dual stimuli‐responsive essential oil‐delivery system (CT@HMS@CH/TA) was successfully fabricated by encapsulating CT in hollow mesoporous silica (HMS), and coating with tannic acid (TA) and chitosan (CH) within HMS by using the layer‐by‐layer assembly technique (LbL). CT@HMS@CH/TA with an average particle size of 125.12 ± 0.12 nm and a hollow mesoporous nanostructure showed high CT‐loading efficiency (16.58% ± 0.17%). The photodegradation rate of CT@HMS@CH/TA under UV irradiation (48 h) was only 15.31%, indicating a 3.34‐fold UV stability improvement. CT@HMS@CH/TA exhibited a higher CT release rate in response to acidic pH and the presence of chitinase, simulating the prevailing conditions as Magnaporthe oryzae infection. Furthermore, CT@HMS@CH/TA exhibited better adhesion without affecting normal rice growth, significantly upregulating chitinase gene expression and enhancing chitinase activity on M. oryzae , thus enhancing CT antifungal activity. CONCLUSION CT@HMS@CH/TA improved CT stability and showed intelligent, controlled release‐performance and higher antifungal efficacy, thus providing a new strategy for efficient application of essential oils for green control of rice blast disease. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.