Cellulose Nanocrystal Surface Cationization: A New Fungicide with High Activity against Phycomycetes capsici

At present, the management of ( ) mainly relies on chemical pesticides. However, along with the resistance generated by to these chemical pesticides, the toxicity and non-degradability of this chemical molecule may also cause serious environmental problems. Herein, a new bio-based nano-antifungal material (CNC@CTAB) was made with coating hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) on the surface of a cellulose nanocrystal (CNC). This material was then applied to the prevention of . This particle was facilely fabricated by mixing CTAB and sulfuric group modified CNC in an aqueous solvent. Compared to pure CTAB, the enrichment of CTAB on the CNC surface showed a better anti-oomycete activity both in vitro and in vivo. When CNC@CTAB was applied on in vitro, the inhibition rate reached as high as 100%, while on the pepper leaf, the particle could also efficiently prevent the infection of , and achieve a disease index as low as zero Thus, considering the high safety of CNC@CTAB in agricultural applications, and its high anti-oomycete activity against , we believe that this CNC@CTAB has great application potential as a new green nano-fungicide in management during the production of peppers or other vegetables.