Encapsulation of flutriafol fungicide into electrospun biodegredable poly (L-lactide) nanofibers

The application of biodegradable, electrospun nanofibers in agriculture has attracted a lot of interest as they are cost-effective and offer a versatile technique to fabricate eco-friendly, high surface-to-volume ratio and porous nanofibrous structures from polymeric solutions. Flutriafol is a commonly used fungicide in plant protection in Australia. This study aimed to encapsulate flutriafol into poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) nanofibers matrix by optimizing electrospinnig conditions. The PLLA solution was prepared at concentration of PLLA (5% w/w) in chloroform-Aceton (75–25 v/v) containing 10% (w/w) flutriafol relative to the PLLA. The PLLA/flutriafol mixture was fed with a syringe to a basic electrospinning setup. Optimum electrospinning conditions were observed at 32 °C with a flow rate speed of 1mL/ h, and 12kV high voltage. SEM images were used to characterize the morphology of electrospun nanofibers. Energy-dispersive detector (EDS) was employed to identify successful encapsultion of flutrifol into PLLA nanofibers