Larvicidal efficacy of aqua nanoemulsion of Aloe vera oil against Aedes aegypti mosquito

Essential oils act as advantageous alternative to insecticides for the control of mosquitoes. But their improper dispersion in water is a problem and to overcome this, present study was conducted by preparing Aloe vera oil nanoemulsions in water using sonication technique. Thermodynamic stability tests revealed that the aqueous nanoemulsion having A. vera oil and Tween-20 in 1: 3 ratio was maximally stable (out of the tested three nanoemulsions prepared @ 1: 1, 1: 2 and 1: 3). Size of spherical droplets of the stable aquananoemulsion recorded through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was found to range from 20 to 50 nm (38.33±1.67). Different concentrations of the stable nanoemulsion of A. vera oil @750, 650, 550, 450, 350, 250 ppm (in triplicate) were tested for their larvicidal potential against Aedes aegypti. Amongst these 650 ppm was found to be the most effective as 100% mortality was observed within 24 hr.