Current agrochemical practices are highly inefficient, with as little as 0.1% of applied chemicals reaching their target. With increasing pathogens, environmental stressors, and a growing population, there is a pressing need for a scalable, cost-effective delivery system that can improve agrochemical delivery efficiency through systemic translocation. Nanotechnology, particularly organic nanocarriers (NCs), offers a promising solution. Flash Nanoprecipitation (FNP) is an antisolvent precipitation technique that provides a scalable method for producing NCs with a core-shell architecture, offering high encapsulation efficiency and flexibility for delivering both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents. However, further research is needed to assess the long-term fate, efficacy, dosing parameters, and biomolecules used as the “shell” of organic NCs for optimal delivery in planta. This research aims to address a significant knowledge gap in dosing parameters by developing a mechanistic understanding for a model eudicot, Solanum lycopersicum, for dosing particles adaxially or abaxially on a leaf surface and the effect on internalization and translocation. To generate relevant translocation and internalization data, NCs have a hydrophobic core of palladium and a tracer dye serving as tracers for quantification by ICP-MS and confocal microscopy to monitor distribution in planta. The surface chemistry of the NCs consists of low-cost amphiphilic stabilizers and biocompatible materials: lecithin, eudragit S-100, and zein. The core of these particles can be substituted with pesticides in future applications, and similar particle sizes and stabilizers are expected to result in comparable plant trafficking. Developing a mechanistic understanding of nanotechnology dosing parameters is crucial for advancing organ-specific delivery, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of agrochemical applications.
