Effects of copper nanoparticles synthesized from the entomopathogen Metarhizium robertsii against the dengue vector Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894).

Aedes albopictus, known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is a significant vector for dengue fever, chikungunya, zika virus, yellow fever. Current control methods rely on chemical insecticides, which face challenges such as resistance, environmental harm, and impact on non-target species Eudrilus eugeniae and Artemia salina. This study evaluates the toxic effects of biogenic copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) synthesized using Metarhizium robertsii intracellular extract obtained from our previous research. The CuNPs were tested against A. albopictus and non-target species at 24 and 48 hours post-treatment. Results demonstrated that entomopathogenic fungi-derived CuNPs exhibited potent mosquitocidal activity, resulting in 97.33% mortality in larvae, 93.33% in pupae, and 74.66% in adults at 48 hours post-treatment. The CuNPs derived from M. robertsii showed lower LC50 values of 74.873 mg/L in larvae, 76.101 mg/L in pupae, and 136.645 mg/L in adults at 48 hours post-treatment. Additionally, 12 hours post-treatment, catalase (an antioxidant enzyme) activity decreased 1.5-fold in a dose-dependent manner, while glutathione S-transferase (a detoxification enzyme) activity increased 7.8-fold. CuNPs demonstrated lower toxicity to non-target species, with 24% mortality in A. salina and 24.44% mortality in E. eugeniae at 24 hours post-treatment. The LC50 values were 634.747 mg/L for A. salina and 602.494 mg/L for E. eugeniae at 24 hours post-treatment. These findings indicate that entomopathogenic fungi-derived CuNPs are a promising, target-specific candidate for controlling A. albopictus at various life stages (larvae, pupae, and adults).