Biosynthesis, mosquitocidal and antibacterial properties of Toddalia asiatica-synthesized silver nanoparticles: do they impact predation of guppy Poecilia reticulata against the filariasis mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus?

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2015-11, Vol.22 (21), p.17053-17064
• Main Authors: Murugan, Kadarkarai, Venus, Joseph Selvaraj Eugine, Panneerselvam, Chellasamy, Bedini, Stefano, Conti, Barbara, Nicoletti, Marcello, Sarkar, Santosh Kumar, Hwang, Jiang-Shiou, Subramaniam, Jayapal, Madhiyazhagan, Pari, Kumar, Palanisamy Mahesh, Dinesh, Devakumar, Suresh, Udaiyan, Benelli, Giovanni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Aquatic insects; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacillus subtilis; Biosynthesis; Culex; Culex - drug effects; Culex quinquefasciatus; Developing countries; Disease; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Efficiency; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Field tests; Filariasis; Fourier transforms; Influenza; Insecticides - chemistry; Insecticides - metabolism; Insecticides - pharmacology; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Laboratories; Larva - drug effects; Larvae; LDCs; Malaria; Minimum inhibitory concentration; Mosquitoes; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - metabolism; Natural enemies; Parasites; Pathogens; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - metabolism; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Poecilia; Poecilia reticulata; Population studies; Predation; Predatory Behavior - drug effects; Research Article; Rutaceae - chemistry; Salmonella; Salmonella typhi; Scanning electron microscopy; Silver; Silver - chemistry; Silver - metabolism; Silver - pharmacology; Spectrum analysis; Studies; Surface plasmon resonance; Toxicity; Toxicology; Tropical diseases; Vector-borne diseases; Vectors; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water purification
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4920-x

Mosquito-borne diseases represent a deadly threat for millions of people worldwide. Furthermore, pathogens and parasites polluting water also constitute a severe plague for populations of developing countries. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgN) were biosynthesized a cheap aqueous extract of T. asiatica leaves as reducing and stabilizing agent. The formation of nanoparticle was confirmed by surface Plasmon resonance band illustrated in UV–vis spectrophotometer. AgN were characterized by FTIR, SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses. AgN were mostly spherical in shape, crystalline in nature, with face-centered cubic geometry, and their mean size was 25–30 nm. T. asiatica aqueous extract and green-synthesized AgN showed excellent larvicidal and pupicidal toxicity against the filariasis vector Culex quinqufasciatus , both in laboratory and field experiments. AgN LC 50 ranged from 16.48 (I instar larvae) to 31.83 ppm (pupae). T. asiatica -synthesized were also highly effective in inhibiting growth of Bacillus subtilis , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Salmonella typhi using the agar disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration protocol. Lastly, we evaluated if sublethal doses of nanoparticles affect predation rates of fishes, Poecilia reticulata , against C. quinquefasciatus . In AgN-contaminated environment, predation of guppies against mosquito larvae was slightly higher over normal laboratory conditions. Overall, this study highlighted that T. asiatica -synthesized AgN are easy to produce, stable over time, and may be employed at low dosages to reduce populations of filariasis vectors, without detrimental effects on predation rates of mosquito natural enemies.