Hydrogels offer an attractive scaffold for the encapsulation, stabilization, and controlled release of precious resources. Moreover, synthetic hydrogel preparation and cargo release can be easily optimized through tuning gel properties, such as stiffness and linker degradability. Two hydrogels were synthesized and were specifically constructed to maintain the activity of and sustainably release important vulnerable payloads. The first hydrogel was synthesized to covalently incorporate trehalose. These gels were used to stabilize the three most widely used animal feed enzymes, which are a necessary additive to enhance the nutritional value of grains, but are deactivated by high temperatures during the feed pelleting process. All three enzymes retained greater than 90% activity after heating to 90°C when non-covalently encapsulated in the hydrogel. The second hydrogel was created through dynamic click chemistry to allow the gradual release of mesotrione, a triketone herbicide that rapidly breaks down in acidic soils. Hydrazone linkages were implemented to reversibly conjugate and encapsulate mesotrione into a slow degrading hydrogel, ultimately decreasing the off-target effect of the free herbicide and increasing its efficiency. The synthesis, optimization, and agricultural application of these hydrogels will be presented.

Synthetic hydrogels tailored for stabilization and sustainable release of agricultural and animal feed cargo

256th National Meeting (2018)

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