There is an increasing imperative to explore safer alternatives for pesticides due to their indiscriminate use and consequential health impacts on the environment and humans. Nanoformulations of pesticides are being developed as potential alternatives due to their beneficial properties, including enhanced solubility, targeted delivery to the site of action, improved stability and efficacy and reduced non-target effects. Nevertheless, a comprehensive assessment is necessary for these emerging nanopesticides compared to existing formulations, aiming to ascertain whether their "nano" characteristics exacerbate toxicity for non-target organisms. This study investigated the toxicity of tebuconazole (TBZ) in different formulations, including nanoformulations (poly-ε-caprolactone [PCL] and nanostructured lipid carrier [NLC] loaded with TBZ), as well as a commercial formulation, on the reproduction of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in both aqueous and soil matrices. Additionally, the impact of the correspondent nanocarriers without TBZ on C. elegans was examined. In water, TBZ in the form of nano and commercial formulations exhibited higher toxicity on the nematodes' reproduction than the TBZ (a.s.) attributable to higher freely dissolved concentrations of TBZ, which resulted in a toxicity order, ranging from the most to the least toxic as follows: NLC-TBZ > PCL-TBZ > commercial formulation > TBZ (a.s.). For NLC-TBZ, the excess toxicity could be clearly explained by combined toxicity of TBZ (a.s.) and nanocarriers, with the effect addition of the separate single compounds matching the observed effects of the nanoformulation. For PCL-TBZ, effects were stronger than expected from the effect addition of TBZ (a.s.) and PCL nanocarriers, potentially due to enhanced bioavailability of encapsulated TBZ in the gut of the nematodes. In soil, NLC with and without loaded TBZ showed higher toxicity than other tested compounds, while PCL nanocarriers without TBZ did not exhibit negative effects on the reproduction of C. elegans. Microcosm experiment, where long-term effects on native soil nematode fauna were tested, confirmed that TBZ-nanoformulations act via combined toxic effects of TBZ and nanocarriers. These findings contribute valuable insights to understanding nanopesticides' ecotoxicity and underscore the need for harmonized regulatory assessments to evaluate these novel formulations adequately.

由于农药的滥用以及对环境和人类健康的影响，探索更安全的农药替代品变得越来越迫切。农药纳米制剂因其有益特性而被开发为潜在的替代品，包括增强溶解度、靶向递送到作用部位、提高稳定性和功效以及减少非目标效应。然而，与现有制剂相比，有必要对这些新兴纳米农药进行全面评估，以确定其“纳米”特性是否会加剧对非目标生物的毒性。本研究调查了不同制剂（包括纳米制剂（聚ε-己内酯 [PCL] 和负载 TBZ 的纳米结构脂质载体 [NLC]）以及商业制剂中戊唑醇 (TBZ) 对线虫繁殖的毒性水基质和土壤基质中的秀丽隐杆线虫。此外，还检查了不含 TBZ 的相应纳米载体对秀丽隐杆线虫的影响。在水中，纳米制剂和商业制剂形式的 TBZ 对线虫的繁殖表现出比 TBZ (as) 更高的毒性，这归因于自由溶解的 TBZ 浓度较高，从而导致毒性顺序为从最高毒性到最低毒性。如下：NLC-TBZ > PCL-TBZ > 商业制剂 > TBZ (as)。对于 NLC-TBZ，过量的毒性可以通过 TBZ (as) 和纳米载体的组合毒性清楚地解释，其中单独的单一化合物的效果添加与纳米制剂的观察到的效果相匹配。对于 PCL-TBZ，添加 TBZ (as) 和 PCL 纳米载体的效果强于预期，这可能是由于线虫肠道中封装的 TBZ 的生物利用度增强。在土壤中，负载和未负载 TBZ 的 NLC 均表现出比其他测试化合物更高的毒性，而不含 TBZ 的 PCL 纳米载体并未对秀丽隐杆线虫的繁殖表现出负面影响。微观世界实验测试了对本地土壤线虫动物群的长期影响，证实 TBZ 纳米制剂通过 TBZ 和纳米载体的联合毒性作用发挥作用。这些发现为理解纳米农药的生态毒性提供了宝贵的见解，并强调需要进行统一的监管评估以充分评估这些新制剂。