title: Delivery of Pesticides to Plant Parasitic Nematodes Using Tobacco Mild Green Mosaic Virus as a Nanocarrier.
abstract: Plant parasitic nematodes are a major burden to the global agricultural industry, causing a $157 billion loss each year in crop production worldwide. Effective treatment requires large doses of nematicides to be applied, putting the environment and human health at risk. Challenges are to treat nematodes that are located deep within the soil, feeding on the roots of plants. To attack the problem at its roots, we propose the use of tobacco mild green mosaic virus (TMGMV), an EPA-approved herbicide as a carrier to deliver nematicides. TMGMV self-assembles into a 300 × 18 nm soft matter nanorod with a 4 nm-wide hollow channel. This plant virus is comprised of 2130 identical coat protein subunits, each of which displays solvent-exposed carboxylate groups from Glu/Asp as well as Tyr side chains, enabling the functionalization of the carrier with cargo. We report (1) the successful formulation and characterization of TMGMV loaded with ∼1500 copies of the anthelmintic drug crystal violet (CV), (2) the bioavailability and treatment efficacy ofCVTMGMV vs CV to nematodes in liquid cultures, and (3) the superior soil mobility ofCVTMGMV compared to free CV.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biomedical Engineering, ‡Radiology, §Materials Science and Engineering, ∥Macromolecular Science and Engineering, and ⊥Division of General Medical Sciences-Oncology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University Schools of Medicine and Engineering , Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7115-3878
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chariou
authors.affiliation: Departments of Biomedical Engineering, ‡Radiology, §Materials Science and Engineering, ∥Macromolecular Science and Engineering, and ⊥Division of General Medical Sciences-Oncology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University Schools of Medicine and Engineering , Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States.
authors.forename: Nicole F
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0130-0481
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001682:Biological Availability; D061046:Biological Control Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D009348:Nematoda / Q000187:drug effects*; D010575:Pesticides; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014027:Tobacco Mosaic Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents; D010575:Pesticides; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: environmental and health exposure; nanotechnology; nematode control; pesticide delivery; tobacco mild green mosaic virus