Data di Pubblicazione:
2022
Citazione:
Biodegradable floating hydrogel baits as larvicide delivery systems against mosquitoes / M. Piazzoni, A. Negri, E. Brambilla, L. Giussani, S. Pitton, S. Caccia, S. Epis, C. Bandi, S. Locarno, C. Lenardi. - In: SOFT MATTER. - ISSN 1744-683X. - 18:34(2022 Aug 31), pp. 6443-6452. [10.1039/d2sm00889k]
Abstract:
Biological methods for mosquito larvae control are completely biodegradable and have null or limited
effects on nontarget organisms. However, commercially available products have a low residual activity,
with the consequent need for multiple applications that inevitably increase costs and the risk of
resistance phenomena insurgence. Smart delivery systems made of hydrogels proved their efficacy in
increasing the action duration of biolarvicides up to several months, but the lack of an efficient baiting
mechanism to strongly attract the target pest remains a problem in practical applications. In this work,
we investigated two novel hydrogel-based formulations of completely natural composition for baiting
and killing larvae of Aedes albopictus mosquitos. The proposed materials consist of charged crosslinked
polysaccharides (chitosan and cellulose) and are specifically manufactured to float in water, simulating
organic matter usually present at breeding sites. Within the hydrogels’ matrix, yeast colonies of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae were embedded as phagostimulants alongside a biolarvicide (Bacillus
thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti)). Despite the similar chemical nature and structure, chitosan-based
hydrogels exhibited a markedly superior baiting potential compared to those made of cellulose and also
succeeded in efficiently killing mosquito larvae just after a few hours from administration. We are
confident that the proposed smart delivery hydrogel made of chitosan can be an enabling tool to attract
mosquito larvae towards biopesticides of different nature without delocalizing active ingredients away
from the breeding site and to simultaneously increase their residual activity, thus holding the potential of
minimizing environmental pollution related to pest control and vector-borne disease prevention.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Elenco autori:
M. Piazzoni, A. Negri, E. Brambilla, L. Giussani, S. Pitton, S. Caccia, S. Epis, C. Bandi, S. Locarno, C. Lenardi
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