Mukia maderaspatana (Cucurbitaceae) extract-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles to control Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases are prone to raise health and economic impacts. Synthetic insecticide-based interventions are indeed in situations of epidemic outbreak and sudden increases of adult mosquitoes. Nanoparticles are being used in many commercial applications and were found that aqueous silver ions can be reduced by an aqueous extract of plant parts to generate extremely stable silver nanoparticles in water. Based on this, silver nanoparticles (SNPs) were synthesized using leaf aqueous extract (LAE) of Mukia maderaspatana. Further, the synthesized SNPs were characterized by UV–visible spectrum, which indicated a strong plasmon resonance at 427 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the average crystalline size of the synthesized SNPs was approximately 64 nm by Debye–Scherrer formulae. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of different functional groups like amines, halides, alkanes, alkynes, amides, and esters with respective stretches, which are responsible for the bio-reduction of silver ions. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) depicted the spherical morphology of SNPs with size range of 13–34 nm. The larvicidal activity of LAE and SNPs exhibited an effective mortality to Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. The lethal concentration (LC₅₀; LC₉₀) of LAE and SNPs were found to be 0.506; 1.082, 0.392; 0.870 ppm and 0.211; 0.703, 0.094; 0.482 ppm, respectively on A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus. Thus, the synthesized SNPs have shown preponderant larvicidal activity, but further studies are needed to formulate the potential larvicidal agents.