A two-layered protective coating that releases cyanide when bitten into could protect seeds from pests, say scientists in Switzerland. The system only becomes toxic when the layers are mixed, eliminating many of the problems of current pesticides.
Protecting agricultural crops against pests is a worldwide concern, particularly in developing countries, but pesticides can contaminate the surrounding environment, and can also hurt harmless insects like honey bees.
Malonitrile (MN) and hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) only create hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon rupture of the separating layer
Read the full story in Chemistry World.
Induced cyanogenesis from hydroxynitrile lyase and mandelonitrile on wheat with polylactic acid multilayer-coating produces self-defending seeds
Wendelin J. Stark et al.
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA14249C
