Two ofthemostimportantchallengesfacinghumanityinthe21stcenturycomprisefoodproductionand
disease control.Eco-friendlycontroltoolsagainstmosquitovectorsandagriculturalpestsareurgently
needed. Insecticidalproductsofmarineoriginhaveahugepotentialtocontrolthesepests.Inthisre-
search, wereportedasingle-stepmethodtosynthesizesilvernanoparticles(AgNP)usingtheaqueous
leaf extractoftheseaweed Hypnea musciformis, acheap,nontoxicandeco-friendlymaterial,thatworked
as reducingandstabilizingagentduringthebiosynthesis.TheformationofAgNPwasconfirmed by
surface plasmonresonancebandillustratedinUV–vis spectrophotometer.AgNPwerecharacterizedby
FTIR, SEM,EDXandXRDanalyses.AgNPweremostlysphericalinshape,crystallineinnature,withface-
centeredcubicgeometry,andtheirmeansizewas40–65 nm.Lowdosesof H. musciformis aqueousex-
tract andseaweed-synthesizedAgNPshowedlarvicidalandpupicidaltoxicityagainstthedenguevector
Aedes aegypti and thecabbagepest Plutella xylostella. TheLC50 valueofAgNPrangedfrom18.14to
38.23 ppmfor1stinstarlarvae(L1)andpupaeof A.aegypti, andfrom24.5to38.23ppmforL1andpupae
of P.xylostella. Both H. musciformis extractandAgNPstronglyreducedlongevityandfecundityof A.
aegypti and P.xylostella adults. Thisstudyaddsknowledgeonthetoxicityofseaweedborneinsecticides
and green-synthesizedAgNPagainstarthropodsofmedicalandagriculturalimportance,allowingusto
propose thetestedproductsaseffectivecandidatestodevelopnewerandcheappestcontroltools |
