Biodegradable Bicontinuous Structures as Controlled Delivery Systems of Urea

Abstract

The novel use of fertilizers and pesticides can ameliorate the life conditions on the Earth due to the higher productivity with lower environmental problems. In this work we focused our attention on devices with easy production process without tensides or solvents. In addition the possibility to load hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules during materials production can reduce the costs and maximize the loading capacity. Here we focused our attention on fertilizers, in particular urea loaded at different concentration to understand its role in the design of urea delivery systems. The release rate from these devices was tested in liquid and solid releasing media. The release was quicker in water (3 days) and slower moving to solid media (15 days) strongly dependent on urea concentration. Then experiments on plant growth underlined that there is an optimized amount of urea that, together with the sustained release kinetics, can be very promising in agriculture.

Keywords: agriculture, bijels, fertilizers, release systems, urea.