An Amphiphilic Chitosan-Polylactide Graft Copolymer and its Nanoparticles as Fungicide Carriers

In the present study, an amphiphilic chitosan-polylactide (CS-PLA) graft copolymer was synthesized through grafting polylactide (PLA) onto water-soluble chitosan (CS), and the chemical structure of this newly developed copolymer was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Stable flusilazole-loaded nanoparticles (NS), with a size near 280.3 nm and a loading content (LC) of 29.0%, were prepared for the fungicide delivery using a nanoprecipitation method. Moreover, size, size distribution and the flusilazole LC as well as the in vitro release profile of flusilazole-loaded NS were investigated. In conclusion, the NS could provide a controlled release of flusilazole and enhance the penetration of flusilazole in the plant compared with classical flusilazole emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulation due to their small particle size. Therefore, the CS-PLA NS could be used as fungicide carriers for the flusilazole delivery system.