Enzyme-loaded pollen-mimicking microparticles for organophosphate detoxification of insect pollinators

Abstract

A composition for detoxifying insect pollinators from one or more organophosphate pesticides, the composition containing microparticles comprising: (i) a phosphotriesterase; (ii) nanoparticles; and (iii) a surface active agent. Also disclosed herein is an aqueous suspension comprising the above-described detoxifying microparticles in an external aqueous medium, which may also contain an insect pollinator attractant. Also described herein is a method for detoxifying insect pollinators of one or more organophosphate pesticides, the method comprising placing the detoxifying aqueous suspension in a location accessible to the insect pollinators to permit the insect pollinators to ingest the detoxifying aqueous suspension, wherein the detoxifying aqueous suspension comprises microparticles, as described above, suspended in an external aqueous medium, typically also including an insect pollinator attractant in the external aqueous medium.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.