Bioengineering of neem nano-formulation with adjuvant for better adhesion over applied surface to give long term insect control

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces, B, Biointerfaces B, Biointerfaces, 2022-01, Vol.209 (Pt 2), p.112176-112176, Article 112176
• Main Authors: Iqbal, Nusrat, Hazra, Dipak Kumar, Purkait, Aloke, Agrawal, Amrish, Kumar, Jitendra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Bioengineering; Botanical adjuvant; Emulsions; Enhanced efficacy; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR); Insect Control; Nanoemulsion (NE); Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Stability
• ISSN: 0927-7765; 1873-4367
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112176

Although safe and eco-friendly botanical pesticides have been intensively promoted to combat pest attacks in agriculture, but their stability and efficacies remain an issue for their wide acceptability as sustained and effective approaches. The purpose of this work was to develop stable neem oil based nano-emulsion (NE) formulation with enhanced activity employing suitable bio-inspired adjuvant. So, Neem NEs (with and without) natural adjuvants (Cymbopogon citratus and Prosopis juliflora) in different concentrations were prepared and quality parameters dictating kinetic stability, acidity/alkalinity, viscosity, droplet size, zeta potential, surface tension, stability and compatibility were monitored using Viscometer, Zetasizer, Surface Tensiometer, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Nano-emulsion biosynthesis optimization studies suggested that slightly acidic (5.9–6.5) NE is kinetically stable with no phase separation; creaming or crystallization may be due to botanical adjuvant (lemongrass oil). Findings proved that Prosopis juliflora, acted as bio-polymeric adjuvant to stabilize NE by increasing Brownian motion and weakening the attractive forces with smaller droplets (25–50 nm), low zeta potential (−30 mV) and poly-dispersive index (