Preparation and characterization of glutathione and temperature dual-sensitive amphiphilic copolymer

The stimuli-responsive pesticide delivery system provides a powerful strategy for enhancing the effective utilization of pesticides and reducing environmental pollution. A new copolymer containing disulfide bond, poly (propylene oxide-co-carbon dioxide-co-allyl glycidyl ether)-SS-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PPAG-SS-PNIPAM) was prepared by the RAFT polymerization. PPAG-SS-PNIPAM could self-assemble into nano-sized micelle for pesticide delivery in aqueous solution. The pesticide, avermectin (AVE), was selected as a model drug to show its potential as a controlled-release pesticide system. The loading rate and encapsulation rate of PPAG-SS-PNIPAM @ AVE were 35.81% and 95.49% respectively. The temperature sensitiveness of the nanomaterials was confirmed by DLS. The results show that temperature and glutathione have a certain effect on the AVE release rate of PPAG-SS-PNIPAM @AVE in vitro. The prepared PPAG-SS-PNIPAM @ AVE exhibited excellent glutathione and temperature dual responsive release properties, which could efficiently prevent AVE from photolysis to prolong the effective duration. Therefore, this work provides a promising approach to improve the utilization of pesticide.