MXPA97001967A - Use of injected apparatus pneumatically without ag - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to pneumatically operated injection device without needle can be used to inject active substances into plant

Description

USE OF PNEUMATICALLY POWERED INJECTION EQUIPMENT WITHOUT NEEDLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the use of injection devices without needles, operated by means of pressure, intended to administer ingredients or active principles to plants.

BACKGROUND Injection, as a form of administration of ingredients or active ingredients to plants, has been known for a long time. This method of administration is superior to traditional application procedures, such as spraying and spreading, due to the environmental problems and with it the loss of lives due to the applied substance is avoided. In order to optimize an injection process in the case of plants, especially in the case of plants provided with lignified or woody logs, different injection devices have been developed over time. Among the well-known apparatuses, one can first mention the so-called Mauget system, which is described among other documents in the patents of E.U.A. 3,304,655 and 4,365,440. The apparatuses shown in the mentioned patents, differ in their constructive details, but both operate according to the same principle of operation. This is a non-rechargeable injector suitable for a single dosage (one-way injector), consisting of a container loaded with the liquid to be injected and a feeder pipe that will be introduced into the trunk of the plant. The container is formed by two sources, which are introduced one into the other by means of a slot and spring system in telescopic form. Pressing the two components together increases the pressure of the gas phase located above the liquid. Thus, the medium to be injected is pressed through the feeder pipe into the trunk of the plant. However, the use of these injection devices in the practice of gardening has shown some problems: on the one hand, the injection of liquids with the help of this system is associated with the risk of producing losses of active substance (leaks of liquid from the trunk opening), and on the other hand, this injection procedure requires a lot of time and is technically complex. A useful alternative consists of a high pressure injection method, developed in the seventies in the United States. As an example of a patent which refers to this injection device, the patent of E.U.A. 4,011,685. The main advantage of this device lies in minimizing the risk of producing liquid losses, which has been achieved by the incorporation of a pump device and a so-called automatic seal needle. When applying this injection device occurs as a result of the high pressure applied (up to 350 bar) a rapid concentration of lignin fibers from the cells of the tissue in the vicinity of the needle and thereby achieve a hermetic seal of the hollow space formed previously, thus preventing a possible exit of the active principle. This injection system is suitable for a multiple application of liquids having different viscosities. A drawback is the fact that generally for its application it is necessary to carry out a previous perforation of a reception space in the trunk of the plant. On the other hand, it can be thought that the degree of hermetic capacity of closure of the opening depends on the level of lignification of the cell walls and thus on the type of plant. This situation means that an injection by means of the device ultimately involves the risk of a loss of liquid. In the patent publication of E.U.A. No. 4,078,087 is presented as another injection technique an injection system in which a uniform supply of the trunk of the plant with the injection means is sought first. It is essential that the injection of liquid is not done through a single conduit, but through an output power system. The exit or evacuation system, in which the injection medium is injected under pressure from a container, consists of a coupling, a variable quantity of the so-called "T" connectors, which are introduced in the perforations previously made in the trunk, and a connector valve. The application of type "T" junctions, which represent flow paths, in which a part of the liquid is injected into the trunk and the remaining part continues to circulate, makes it possible to ensure that the system conducts the plant is fed by all the sides and uniformly with the liquid carrying the active ingredient or ingredient. Analogously to the case of the injection devices described hitherto in this document, this system also presents the problem of the undesired exit of the injected medium. As an example of another injection system, known through the art, it is possible to mention here that system described in the publication of E.U.A. 3,576,276. In the case of this injection device, reference is made to the principle of long-term operation of a subcutaneous injection. The new element is the use of a support element for the application in the form of a tube, which is introduced, before the injection, into the trunk of the tree until reaching the desired depth. The use of this additional feeder tube, in which the injection needle is located during the application, allows the needle to be recharged with the medium to be injected before placing the injector cylinder with the displacement piston. This modification of the usual order of the operation stages during the application fulfills the objective of injecting the liquid quickly and effectively, since it is made free of air bubbles. However, a disadvantage of this procedure is the important time and work required related to the use of the additional application device.

Among the injection methods described in the prior art, one can mention the system described in the patent CA 1 089 645, which operates through the use of an injection device. The object of this invention is a pressure injector suitable for use in plants, which was created especially to combat vascular diseases caused by fungi (for example, the death of elms) in the case of trees. This device was preferably developed in order to perform the injections without loss of ingredient or active principle. The reduction to the minimum required of liquid leaks was achieved through the use of a feeder pipe (a feeder needle), whose surface is serrated or is provided with hooks. By means of this disuniform surface structure, a close contact is established with the neighboring tissue of the plant, so that the medium that has already been injected is not able to return or can only do so on a small scale. Finally, in the case of the injection device described in the patent of E.U.A. 4,164,093, it is a mini-pressure injector suitable for use in shoots of small-thickness plants, such as shoots, tree branches or young plants. The device comprises a syringe (based on the constructive principle of a one-way needle to apply subcutaneous injections of conventional design) and a conventional multiple-use pruning scissors, the hypodermic needle being fixed on the fixed part of the pliers. The free movement according to the width of the clamp or grip allows any location of the mini-injector according to the growth axis and allows flexible handling of the entire device depending on the type of plant used. In none of the injection devices according to the prior art, suitable to be applied in the plants, it has been possible to solve in a completely satisfactory manner the problem of leaks of the medium to be injected. On the other hand, the application of the injection systems mentioned above is, in general, complex and time consuming. On the other hand, these devices are only suitable for injecting liquid media. As none of the aforementioned publications contains a reference about the use of suitable injection devices for non-lignified plants, it can be assumed that said devices are not suitable for such applications.

OBJECTS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has for its object to provide an injection method that allows to inject both solid and liquid media, avoiding, in the latter case, the aforementioned drawback of leaks, and that can be applied in the case of woody plants as also in those that have non-lignified or woody buds. Surprisingly, it has been found that by using injection devices operated by needleless pressure, according to the features described in claim 1 and in subclaims 2 to 5, it is possible to fully achieve this object. The present invention will be described in detail below. Injection devices without needles actuated by means of pressure have been known through human and veterinary medicine. For years they have been applied for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in all cases where it is necessary to apply pain-free injections or needles. They can be purchased commercially under different trade names (here we can mention, for example, injection devices for vaccination, manufactured in the former Soviet Union called "bee", and the so-called "Jet" developed in the United States and the device for vaccinating Hungarian "Viper", described in detail in numerous patents and publications, for example DE 3467 301, EP 0 119 286, E.U.A. 4,966,581, DE 31 15 373). However, until now they have not been applied to plants. Surprisingly it has been discovered that needle-free injection devices which correspond basically to the type of construction of these devices, and which are described in the aforementioned patents, are extraordinarily suitable for injecting different substances into plants. In the case of injection devices of the type indicated, these are devices in which the medium to be injected exits through a nozzle of the injection chamber with such energy that it is possible to make an injection without the injection. help of a needle. By means of the short pressure stroke generated, the injection opening required for the injection medium with a desired depth is formed in the object to be injected (organ of the plant). The injection depth can be varied "through the angle and distance of the device of the object to be injected; for example, the closer the nozzle is to the surface of the object, the deeper the injection cone will be. The pressure required for the firing of the medium to be injected can be generated according to the type of construction of the injection device in a different way. Here, for example, the gas from a carbon dioxide pellet (DE 34 67 301) or a pressure pump (DE 31 15373) can be used as the pressure medium. The particular advantage of this invention is that by using this type of injectors free of conductors and needles, the risk of loss of ingredient or active principle caused by leaks or leaks is completely eliminated. This is particularly true in the case of injections carried out in non-woody plants, where due to the osmotic pressure of the neighboring cells, a closing of the firing or impact hole rapidly occurs.

The other advantages achieved by the invention is that the medium to be injected can be found in a fluid, semi-solid or solid form. In this type of nozzle injections, it is possible to inject highly viscous liquids by applying a correspondingly high pressure on the objects. The reason for this is that in this case it is not possible to use the conductors and the needles. This avoids the problem that is usual in the case of viscous media, of the obstruction of the needle, for example due to the closure thereof. The needleless injection procedure also offers the possibility of injecting media in crystalline form. The requirement for this is that the individual particles of the injection medium have a sufficiently small size (microfine). As the preferred particle size, the lower range of 1 micron can be mentioned. The active ingredients can be present in isolated form or in mixtures between them. They can be dissolved or dispersed in the injection medium. Among the ingredients or active ingredients that can be administered to plants by means of needle-free injection devices, we can first mention the plant protection products with systemic action (insecticides, acaricides, fungicides, bactericides), as well as the fortifying products of plants and growth regulators. The systemic insecticides are, for example, the products Buthocarbim, Dimethoato, Fenoxycarb, Methamyl, Oxamyl, Oxydemteton-methyl, Primicarb or Propoxur. Systemic acaricides are, for example, Clofenbtizine, Fenbutathione-oxide and Hexythiazox. The systemic fungicides are, for example, Benomyl, Bromuconazole, Bitertanol, Etaconazole, Flusilazole, Furalaxyl, Fosetyl-Al, Imazalil, Metalxyl, Penconazole, Propioconazole, Thiabendazole, Triadimefon, Triadimenol or Triforine. Among the systemic bactericides, for example, Flumequine can be mentioned. Among the fortifying products of the plants, there may be mentioned, for example, the extracts of the plants of nettle, atanasia, horsetail or the spérgula. These bioactive substances can develop, depending on the injection site, a local or systemic effect on the plant. Regulators of systemic growth are, for example, the Etephon and beta-indolyl acetic acid (ÍES). As a preferred application of the needleless injectors, the administration of the growth inhibiting substances can be mentioned in relation to this, as an alternative to the manual cutting measures in the public green meadow. In this field, the use of injection systems has increased considerably in recent years (especially in the United States). Other substances that can be processed by the use of injection devices without needles, are the protective substances and those to impregnate the wood. For centuries, useful wood has been protected against aging and environmental influences with the help of mixtures of oil and waxes and other chemical substances (for example against wood-eating insects) or with film-forming coatings. However, these treatments have the disadvantage that they must be renewed periodically. The use of needle-free high pressure injectors constitutes a convenient alternative to the conventional impregnation process. Due to the fact that with the help of this device it is possible to inject relatively viscous media, it is possible, by applying said devices, to inject the liquids containing polymers into a piece of wood to be treated.

This is particularly important because the injection medium can be a formulation with a controlled release of the active principle. Because it is possible to control the release profile (release time and release rate) by this type of active substance preparations., the needleless injection procedure offers the advantage of a long-term protection of the object. Accordingly, the needleless injection processes are especially suitable for the treatment of wooden objects which require long-term protection and which is durable, for example, in the case of wooden elements of the support devices of plants (guide structures, stakes) and the crops of the vegetables. Another important advantage that is achieved with the use of injection devices without needles, is the time saving. These devices allow a fast work, are robust and have a relatively long life. As on the other hand they are suitable for sterilization in the autoclave, they can also be used in those cases of administration of the active ingredient or ingredient where it is necessary to keep the environment free of viruses or without the risk of an infection caused by the virus, such as example, in the cultivation of virus-free varieties or in the multiplication of meristems. The invention will be explained in detail with the help of the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1 2.5 parts by weight of powdered polyacrylic acid (Carbopol ETD 2050) were dispersed in 97 parts by weight of water. To the suspension prepared in this way, 0.5 parts by weight of the active ingredient Al-Fosetil was added. The incorporated active principle was homogeneously distributed in the dough with continuous agitation. The aqueous dispersion of the acrylic acid containing the active principle was then charged with a relative viscosity of 0.86 Pa.s (at the temperature of 25 ° C, according to the Brookfield viscometer measuring body LVE) in a needle-free injection device. by means of pressure (Dermo-Jet type), and injected into the base of a one-year-old raspberry bud (Rubus idaeus) with a pressure of 8.1 bar in the plant tissue.

EXAMPLE 2 0.9 grams of acidic salt (inducer of the resistance of the plants) was dissolved with heating up to 30 ° C in 500 ml of distilled water. 100 ml of the solution thus obtained was loaded into a needle-free injection device operated by means of a pressure agent (Dermo-Jet type) and injected at the base of a growth shaft of the tobacco plant (Nicotiana). tabakum) in the tissue of the plant.

Claims (2)

1. - The use of needle-free injection devices, operable with a pressure agent, of a basic construction type as is known and used in the current state of the art represented in human and veterinary medicine, in order to inject a formulation present in solid, semi-solid or liquid condition, in order to achieve the controlled release of an agent that comes from the group of phytoprotective agents, reforfitore-forcing agents, growth regulators, fertilizers as well as agents for the treatment of wood, all with isthmic action.

2. The use according to claim 1 for the injection of an agent in the form of pellets (small spheres) with a diameter of 0.1 to 5.0 microns, preferably between 0.2 and 1.0 mm.