Silica nanoparticle: a potential new insecticide for mosquito vector control.

Presently, there is a need for increased efforts to develop newer and effective methods to control mosquito vectors as the existing chemical and biological methods are not as effective as in earlier period owing to different technical and operational reasons. The use of nanomaterial products in various sectors of science including health increased during the last decade. We tested three types of nanosilica, namely lipophilic, hydrophilic and hydrophobic, to assess their larvicidal, pupicidal and growth inhibitor properties and also their influence on oviposition behaviour (attraction/deterrence) of mosquito species that transmit human diseases, namely malaria (Anopheles), yellow fever, chickungunya and dengue (Aedes), lymphatic filariasis and encephalitis (Culex and Aedes).