End-Capped polyglyoxylates: Stimuli-Responsive coating for agricultural products

该项目涉及一类新的可生物降解聚合物，通过端到端机制选择性地对刺激作出反应。这些聚合物在没有刺激的情况下稳定并保持其特性，但在有刺激的情况下迅速降解。一个由化学家、化学工程师、生物学家和农学家组成的多学科团队与我们的行业合作伙伴合作，旨在利用这些“智能”聚合物的独特特性，开发肥料涂层，根据植物的需要选择性地释放养分。该项目将涉及聚合物封盖基团的开发，以响应植物根部散发的化学信号，以及聚合物及其配方的研究和优化，以获得理想的涂层性能。将研究聚合物在各种环境条件下的降解，以确定它们是否适合肥料释放，并了解它们对土壤的潜在影响。有了优化的涂层，它们将被应用于尿素肥料颗粒，并将在受控环境和农业领域对涂层肥料进行评估。总的来说，目的是提高肥料的效率，同时减少与农业化学品作为温室气体渗入供水系统和进入大气有关的有害环境影响。

This project involves a new class of biodegradable polymers that un-zip by an end-to-end mechanism selectively in response to stimuli. These polymers are stable and retain their properties in the absence of stimuli, but degrade rapidly in the presence of stimuli. Working with our industry partner, a multidisciplinary team of chemists, chemical engineers, biologists, and agronomists aim to exploit the unique properties of these "smart" polymers for the development of fertilizer coatings that will release nutrients selectively in response to the needs of plants. This project will involve the development of polymer capping groups that respond to chemical signals exuded by the roots of plants as well as the study and optimization of the polymers and their formulations in order to attain properties that are ideal for coatings. The degradation of the polymers in various environmental conditions will be studied to determine their suitability for fertilizer release and to understand their potential impacts on soil. With optimized coatings in hand, they will then be applied to urea fertilizer particles and the coated fertilizers will be evaluated both in controlled environments and in an agricultural field. Overall, the aim is to increase the efficiency of fertilizers, while at the same time reducing the harmful environmental effects associated with the leaching of agricultural chemicals into the water supply and into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.