Fig 1. Solanum mammosum (L.) botanical voucher.

Pilaquinga F, Morejón B, Ganchala D, Morey J, Piña N, Debut A, Neira M. (2019) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Solanum mammosum L. (Solanaceae) fruit extract and their larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae). PLoS ONE 14(10): e0224109

This article is the result of a multi-disciplinary collaboration between PUCE's Nanotechnology Laboratory, the Center for Research on Health in Latin America (CISeAL), Spain's University of the Balearic Islands and the Center for Nanosciences and Natotechnology at the Ecuadorian Armed Forces University (ESPE). In the manuscript, authors Ma. Fernanda Pilaquinga, Bianca Morejón et al. detail the preparation and characterization of silver nanoparticles synthetized using a "green chemistry" method that uses an extract obtained from the fruits of Solanum mammosum (a plant native to the andean and coastal areas of Ecuador), as well as the evaluation of said particle's insecticidal activity against the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the main vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya around the world.

The results presented show that both the pure S. mammosum extract and the nanoparticles coated with said extract exhibited measurable insecticidal activity. However, the nanoparticles (which were prepared using an easy, cheap and environmentally friendly method) presented an increase in efficiency of approximately 25,000 fold compared to the extract alone.

These results suggest that both S. mammosum and the nanoparticles coated with its extract have the potential to be developed as novel control tools against one the most important species of insect vector of human disease, and possibly against other insect species of major medical and economic relevance.

Read the full article:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0224109#pone-0224109-g005