Larvicidal Activity of Carbon Black against the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-03, Vol.13 (3), p.307
• Main Authors: Martínez Rodríguez, Erick J, Evans, Parker, Kalsi, Megha, Rosenblatt, Noah, Stanley, Morgan, Piermarini, Peter M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Accumulation; Aedes aegypti; Anal papillae; Aquatic insects; Black carbon; Breeding sites; Carbon; Carbon black; Carbon sources; Culicidae; Dengue fever; Developmental stages; Evaluation; Experiments; Exposure; Fever; Food; Gastrointestinal tract; Insect control; Insecticide resistance; Insecticides; Larvae; larvicide; Larvicides; Mode of action; Mortality; mosquito; Mosquitoes; Nanoparticles; Papillae; Pyrethroids; Setae; Swimming; Toxicity; Vector-borne diseases; Vectors; Yellow fever
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects13030307

The yellow fever mosquito is one of the deadliest animals on the planet because it transmits several medically important arboviruses, including Zika, chikungunya, dengue, and yellow fever. Carbon-based nanoparticles (CNPs) derived from natural sources have previously been shown to have toxic effects on mosquito larvae and offer a potential alternative to chemical insecticides such as pyrethroids, for which mosquitoes have evolved resistance. However, CNPs derived from industrial sources, such as carbon black, have not previously been evaluated as larvicides. Here, we evaluate the effects of a commercially-available carbon black, EMPEROR 1800 (E1800), on mortality and development of pyrethroid-susceptible (PS) and pyrethroid-resistant (PR) strains of . We found that E1800 exhibited concentration-dependent mortality against 1st instar larvae of both strains within the first 120 h after exposure, but after this period, surviving larvae did not show delays in their development to adults. Physical characterization of E1800 suspensions suggests that they form primary particles of ~30 nm in diameter that fuse into fundamental aggregates of ~170 nm in diameter. Notably, larvae treated with E1800 showed internal accumulation of E1800 in the gut and external accumulation on the respiratory siphon, anal papillae, and setae, suggesting a physical mode of toxic action. Taken together, our results suggest that E1800 has potential use as a larvicide with a novel mode of action for controlling PS and PR mosquitoes.