Sm chitorelease: a chitosan-based nanoplatform for encapsulation and controlled release of agricultural actives

SM ChitoRelease is a chitosan-based nanotechnology platform developed to encapsulate, protect, and control the release of agricultural active ingredients. The technology addresses key challenges that limit the effectiveness of agricultural products, including environmental degradation, leaching, volatilization, poor persistence, and rapid loss of bioactive compounds after application.

The platform utilizes biodegradable chitosan nanoparticles produced through ionic gelation, a scalable and environmentally friendly aqueous manufacturing process. The nanoengineered matrix encapsulates active ingredients and enables controlled and sustained release, improving active availability while minimizing losses throughout the application cycle.

SM ChitoRelease is designed as a versatile delivery platform compatible with a broad range of agricultural inputs, including microbial metabolites, biological products, nutrients, biostimulants, crop protection compounds, natural extracts, and emerging RNA-based technologies. The platform can be tailored to meet different release requirements, allowing optimization for specific crops, environmental conditions, and application strategies.

Key advantages include high encapsulation efficiency, tunable release profiles, excellent colloidal stability, long-term storage stability, and compatibility with sustainable agricultural practices. Because the technology is based on chitosan, a biodegradable and renewable biopolymer, it provides an environmentally responsible alternative to conventional delivery systems.

Proof-of-concept studies conducted by Small Nanotechnology demonstrated encapsulation efficiencies exceeding 80% for multiple active compounds. Controlled-release evaluations performed under different environmental conditions (pH 4.5, pH 7.0, and saline media) confirmed the ability to modulate release kinetics according to the surrounding environment. After more than 190 hours of evaluation, cumulative release ranged from approximately 32% to 55%, demonstrating prolonged active availability and sustained delivery behavior.

The platform also demonstrated outstanding storage stability. Nanoformulations remained stable for more than eight months under refrigerated, ambient, and accelerated storage conditions (5°C, 25°C, and 40°C), with no significant changes in particle size, polydispersity index, or zeta potential, confirming robust colloidal stability and formulation integrity.

Current development efforts focus on expanding validation across additional agricultural actives, optimizing formulation performance, conducting greenhouse and field evaluations, and establishing strategic partnerships for scale-up, co-development, licensing, and commercialization.