Fabrication of nano-mosquitocides using chitosan from crab shells: Impact on non-target organisms in the aquatic environment

Murugan K 1 , Anitha J 2 , Dinesh D 2 , Suresh U 2 , Rajaganesh R 2 , Chandramohan B 2 Show all authors , Subramaniam J 2 , Paulpandi M 2 , Vadivalagan C 2 , Amuthavalli P 2 , Wang L 3 , Hwang JS 4 , Wei H 5 , Alsalhi MS 6 , Devanesan S 6 , Kumar S 7 , Pugazhendy K 8 , Higuchi A 9 , Nicoletti M 10 , Benelli G 11

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biotechnology, Thiruvalluvar University, Serkkadu, Vellore 632115, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 2 Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 3 School of Life Science and Technology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
  • 4 Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202-24, Taiwan
  • 5 Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350013, China
  • 6 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Research Chair in Laser Diagnosis of Cancer,King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 7 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, University Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
  • 8 Department of Zoology, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608002, India
  • 9 Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, No. 300 Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
  • 10 Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
  • 11 Insect Behavior Group, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy; The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy. Electronic address: g.benelli@sssup.it
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2016 Oct;132:318-28.
PMID: 27344400 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.06.021

Abstract

Mosquitoes are arthropods of huge medical and veterinary relevance, since they vector pathogens and parasites of public health importance, including malaria, dengue and Zika virus. Currently, nanotechnology is considered a potential eco-friendly approach in mosquito control research. We proposed a novel method of biofabrication of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using chitosan (Ch) from crab shells. Ch-AgNP nanocomposite was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, EDX and XRD. Ch-AgNP were tested against larvae and pupae of the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi obtaining LC50 ranging from 3.18 ppm (I) to 6.54 ppm (pupae). The antibacterial properties of Ch-AgNP were proved against Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi, while no growth inhibition was reported in assays conducted on Proteus vulgaris. Concerning non-target effects, in standard laboratory considtions the predation efficiency of Danio rerio zebrafishes was 68.8% and 61.6% against I and II instar larvae of A. stephensi, respectively. In a Ch-AgNP-contaminated environment, fish predation was boosted to 89.5% and 77.3%, respectively. Quantitative analysis of antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and LPO from hepatopancreas of fresh water crabs Paratelphusa hydrodromous exposed for 16 days to a Ch-AgNP-contaminated aquatic environment were conducted. Notably, deleterious effects of Ch-AgNP contaminating aquatic enviroment on the non-target crab P. hydrodromous were observed, particularly when doses higher than 8-10ppm are tested. Overall, this research highlights the potential of Ch-AGNP for the development of newer control tools against young instar populations of malaria mosquitoes, also highlighting some risks concerned the employ of nanoparticles in aquatic environments.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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