Ibrahiem Sohila A, Reda Fifi M, Abd-ElAzeem Eman M, Hashem Mostafa S, Ammar Hala A
Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 6;15(1):1012. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81988-6.
The cotton leafworm, Spodoptra littoralis, causes great damage to cotton crops. A new, safer method than insecticide is necessary for its control. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are metalloid nanomaterial, with extensive biological activities. They have low toxicity and can be used safely in plant disease management. In this study, we successfully bio-fabricated selenium nanoparticles and chitosan-selenium nanocomposite (Ch-SeNPs) using a fungal cell-free filtrate of Penicillium griseofulvum. The biosynthesized nanomaterials were initially detected optically by the formation of a red color in the solution mixture and the appearance of a strong plasmon resonance peak at 240-300 nm. The biosynthesized nanomaterials were fully characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, energy dispersive X-ray, inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared. We tested the anti-insect activities of SeNPs, and Ch-SeNPs against larvae of S. littoralis compared to spore suspensions of P. griseofulvum. The results indicated that Ch-SeNPs followed by SeNPs gave a significantly higher mortality percentage than the spore suspension of the tested fungus. The highest production of all biosynthesized nanomaterials was detected after 7 days at 40 °C under alkaline conditions (pH 9). The average size diameter of SeNPs and Ch-SeNPs were 91.25 and 67.41 nm with zeta potential - 8.05 and + 41 mV, respectively. Both Ch-SeNPs and SeNPs gave high mortality rates and low values of LC and LC for both larvae and pupae. Ch-SeNPs showed stronger activity against S. littoralis than SeNPs and spore suspension at all experimental conditions. Cytotoxicity experiments indicated their safety against honeybee populations. The current study reveals the significant ultrastructure impact of SeNPs on larvae. These findings suggest that selenium nanoparticles and nanocomposite can be fabricated with a costless easy route using fungal filtrate, and they can be used safely in pest control systems that are safe for honeybee populations. It is the first report about the application of Ch-SeNPs as an anti-insect agent.
棉铃虫（Spodoptra littoralis）对棉花作物造成严重损害。因此，需要一种比杀虫剂更安全的新方法来控制它。硒纳米颗粒（SeNPs）是一种具有广泛生物活性的类金属纳米材料。它们毒性低，可安全用于植物病害管理。在本研究中，我们使用灰黄青霉的无细胞滤液成功生物合成了硒纳米颗粒和壳聚糖-硒纳米复合材料（Ch-SeNPs）。通过溶液混合物中红色的形成以及在240-300nm处出现强等离子体共振峰，最初通过光学方法检测到生物合成的纳米材料。通过紫外可见光谱、透射电子显微镜、动态光散射、能量色散X射线、电感耦合等离子体光谱和傅里叶变换红外光谱对生物合成的纳米材料进行了全面表征。与灰黄青霉的孢子悬浮液相比，我们测试了SeNPs和Ch-SeNPs对棉铃虫幼虫的抗虫活性。结果表明，Ch-SeNPs其次是SeNPs的死亡率显著高于受试真菌的孢子悬浮液。在碱性条件（pH 9）下于40°C培养7天后，检测到所有生物合成纳米材料的产量最高。SeNPs和Ch-SeNPs的平均粒径分别为91.25和67.41nm，zeta电位分别为-8.05和+41mV。Ch-SeNPs和SeNPs对幼虫和蛹均具有高死亡率以及低LC和LC值。在所有实验条件下，Ch-SeNPs对棉铃虫的活性均强于SeNPs和孢子悬浮液。细胞毒性实验表明它们对蜜蜂种群安全。当前研究揭示了SeNPs对幼虫的显著超微结构影响。这些发现表明，可以使用真菌滤液通过低成本且简便的途径制备硒纳米颗粒和纳米复合材料，并且它们可以安全地用于对蜜蜂种群安全的害虫控制系统。这是关于Ch-SeNPs作为抗虫剂应用的首次报道。
