Synthesis of eco-friendly silver nanoparticles from Morinda tinctoria leaf extract and its larvicidal activity against Culex quinquefasciatus.

Mosquitoes are the major vector for the transmission of malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, filariasis, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis, and they accounted for global mortality and morbidity with increased resistance to common insecticides. The aim of this study was to investigate the larvicidal potential of the acetone leaf extracts of Morinda tinctoria and synthesized silver nanoparticles against third instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). Nanoparticles are being used in many commercial applications. It was found that aqueous silver ions can be reduced by aqueous extract of plant parts to generate extremely stable silver nanoparticles in water. Synthesized AgNPs were characterized by ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The synthesized silver nanoparticles have also been tested against the third instar larvae of C. quinquefasciatus. The leaf extract and the AgNPs high mortality values were 50 % lethal concentration (LC50) = 8.088 and 1.442 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus, respectively. The results recorded from ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy support the biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles. These results suggest that the leaf extract of M. tinctoria and synthesis of AgNPs have the potential to be used as an ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of C. quinquefasciatus. By this approach, it is suggestive that this rapid synthesis of nanoparticles would be proper for developing a biological process for mosquito control.