α-linolenic acid (ALA) as the hydrophobic fatty long chain and urea as the hydrophilic group were grafted onto carboxymethyl chitosan through acylation reaction to prepare amphiphilic chitosan derivatives (U-CMCSg- ALA)
and its structure was characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy. Then
the drug-loaded nano-micelles (CTD@ U-CMCS-g-ALA) were prepared by the ultrasonic selfassembly method using U-CMCS-g-ALA as the wall material and clothianidin (CTD) as the core material. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of nano-micelles showed that the nano-micelles had a spherical shape with a uniform particle size distribution
with an average particle size of about 465 nm. In vitro release revealed that the CTD@U-CMCSg- ALA nano-micelles exhibited a sustained and pH-responsive drug release property at room temperature. Finally
the antifeedant activity of CTD @ U-CMCS-g-ALA nano-micelles on sugarcane borer was tested by the artificial feed incorporation method. The results showed that the drug-loaded nano-micelles could effectively inhibit the growth and development of the sugarcane borer and the antifeeding rate of CTD@U-CMCS-g-ALA on sugarcane borer wend down by more than 14.3% compared with unembedded clothianidin
which was mainly due to the encapsulation effect of the wall material U-CMCS-g-AlA that could reduce the antifeeding performance against larvae and thus showed better insecticidal activity.