Abstract
•A reductant in Pergularia daemia (Pd) unripe fruit extract converts ZnO into nanoparticles (NPs).•Pd-ZnONPs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM analysis.•Pd-ZnONPs highly toxic to Aedes aegypti larvae (LC50 = 11.11µg/mL).•Pd-ZnONPs act as a potential control agent for controlling Zika virus vector Ae.aegypti.
In this study Pergularia daemia unripe fruits were used to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles (Pd-ZnONPs). UV-vis Spectroscopy detected the production of ZnONPs. XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM studies were used to characterize the synthesized Pd-ZnONPs. Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) third instar larvae were analyzed to diverse concentrations of Pd-unripe fruit extract and Pd-ZnONPs for 24 hours to assess the larvicidal effect. Mortality was also detected in Ae. aegypti larvae under laboratory conditions, with corresponding LC50 and LC90 values of 11.11 and 21.20 µg/ml respectively. As a result of this study, the levels of total proteins, esterases, acetylcholine esterase, and phosphatase enzymes in the third instar larvae of Ae. aegypti were significantly lower than the control. These findings suggest that Pd-ZnONPs could be used to suppress mosquito larval populations.
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