Ultrasound assisted formation of essential oil nanoemulsions: Emerging alternative for Culex pipiens pipiens Say (Diptera: Culicidae) and Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) management

JESSER, E.; LORENZETTI, A.S.; YEGUERMAN, C.; MURRAY, A.P.; DOMINI, C.; WERDIN-GONZÁLEZ, J.O.

ULTRASONICS SONOCHEMISTRY.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 61

1350-4177

Over the last years, nanotechnologyhascontributedto the development of newbotanical insecticides formulations based on essential oils (EO), which are safe for the human health and the environment. Nanoemulsions (NEs) can enhance the bioactivity of the EOtoprevent the prematurevolatility anddegradation of the active ingredients. In our work, geranium EO (Geranium maculatumL.)wasused to developmicro and nanoemulsions addingTween80as surfactant.For NEs formulation, ultrasound was appliedand thephysicochemical and ultrasound parameters were optimized: oil:surfactant ratio = 1:2, ultrasound power=65W, sonicationtime=2 min, cycles = 30on/ 20 off and ultrasonic probe distance = 3.7 cm. The NEs obtained had 13.58 nmand polydisperse index(PDI)values of 0.069. They were stored at 25°C and were stable for60 days.The present study also demonstrated the potential of NEs to enhancethe toxicity of geranium EO against larvae of Culex pipiens pipiens(EO LC50= 80.97 ppm, NEs LC50=48.27ppm) and Plodia interpunctella(EO + β-cypermethrinLD50= 0.16 μg larvae-1, NEs + β-cypermethrinLD50= 0.07 μg larvae-1).Overall, our findings pointed out that NEs can increase twofold the insecticidal efficacy of EO, and thus, they can be considered further for the development of botanical insecticides.