Topic > Nanotechnology Perspective: Application of Nanotechnology in Insect Pest Management

Today's agriculture should take advantage of current technology and grow with it. It is time to create an enabling environment in agriculture to better utilize technology and bring revolution in the production of superior quality food crops/grains while preserving the environment for our future generations. Nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary science, stands out among the various new technologies available and is most relevant to agriculture today. Richard Philips Feynman's 1959 speech (“There's a Lot of Room at the Bottom”) (Feynman, 1960) inspired the field of nanoscience and technology, envisioning a huge number of its practical applications in computing, information science, in biology and engineering. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Nearly fifty years after Feynman's speech, there has been an explosion of academic and industrial interest in nanomaterials, resulting from new properties emerging from materials at the nanometer level, such as changes in electrical conductivity, in surface chemistry and reactivity. New products are developed with the help of nanotechnology in medicine, communications, electronic devices, materials research, defense research, textiles, agriculture, food industry and many others and are simultaneously reported by many researchers around the world. Its applications in entomology are increasing and will certainly become an integral part of crop protection in the coming years. Nanotechnology deals with materials ranging in size from 0.1 to 100 nm and their applications. In other words, and by definition provided by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), US nanotechnology is research and technological development at the atomic, molecular, and macromolecular levels on a scale of approximately 0.1-100 nanometers. Engineering materials or products at the nanoscale can be performed via two approaches, namely top-down and bottom-up. These two approaches are essential to understanding the basic principles of nanotechnology and how it works. The manipulation of living organisms and the fusion of biological and non-biological materials with the help of nanotechnology is referred to as nanobiotechnology (Scrinis and Lyons, 2007). It can also be used to develop new organisms. This can be used in medicine and agriculture to create GM crops. Insect pests pose a serious threat to food production, to manage these pests we are using huge quantities of pesticides which are dangerous to both human health and the environment. In 1962, Rachael Carson, a marine biologist, explained the effects of pesticides on the environment in her book “Silent Spring,” which created great awareness about the side effects of pesticides (Fig. 1). Due to the lack of effective alternatives for pest management, to this day we are still heavily dependent on pesticides in agriculture. This creates an urgent need to look for alternatives to save our health and the environment. Nanotechnology could be a new hope for us. The most intriguing questions that are discussed among various entomologists are; do we really need nanotechnology in entomology? In this review we address this question by focusing on the use of nanotechnology/nanomaterials related to insect pests and their management. Furthermore, this will provide new dimensions for research in entomology and zoology. Tools of Nanotechnology There are many tools available in nanotechnology to enable easyapplication in different fields. Some of the tools are described below for the benefit of the readers. Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) Nanotubes can be single-walled (SWCNT) or multi-walled (MWCNT). Some of the major advantages of CNTs are their ability to functionalize and encapsulate biological and chemical materials. This feature can be used in agricultural, environmental and medical fields for site-specific delivery of materials. Fullerenes These are also molecules made up of carbon and were discovered in 1985 and this discovery was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in 1996. They appear in various shapes including spherical, elliptical and tubular. They are widely used in solar cells, to store hydrogen gas and to develop interdigitated capacitors (IDCs). Also they can be used in food packaging and other agricultural fields. Quantum dots These are nanoscale semiconductors. It is mainly used in biomedical applications such as imaging and detection of diseases in humans, FRET (Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer) technology, cell tracking, detection of pathogens and toxins, and in genetic technology (Jamieson, 2007). It can also be used in the development of genetically modified plants. In entomology it can be used to mark insects in behavioral and diversity studies, detection and tracking of biological molecules, detection of the mode of action of chemicals and is also useful in the construction of transgenic insects. Nanosensors A sensor is an instrument that responds to a physical stimulus such as heat, light, sound, pressure, magnetism or movement. Nanosensors communicate information about nanoparticles to the macroscopic world (Jain and Siddiqui, 2014). It is an extremely small device capable of detecting and responding to physical stimuli with dimensions of one millionth of a meter. Nanosensors are already used in medicine (detection of cancer cells, drug delivery), detection of pesticide residues in vegetables, they can also be used for early detection of insect pests and diseases. Dendrimers Dendrimers are spherical polymeric molecules, consisting of acrylic acid monomer and diamine. These are widely used in biomedicine, imaging (MRI) (as a contrast agent - especially anatomical images) and drug delivery (Klajnert and Bryszewska, 2001). Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Application in Insect Pest Management A wide variety of materials such as metal oxides, ceramics, silicates, magnetic materials, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), lipids, polymers, dendrimers, emulsions, and polymers are used to construct nanoparticles ( NP) useful in the controlled release of pesticides. Metal NPs exhibit size-dependent properties, such as magnetism (magnetic NPs), fluorescence (QDs), and degradation by photocatalysis (e.g., metal oxide NPs), and these have corresponding biotechnological applications in the development of sensors for the detection of parasites. Nanoparticles are synthesized by various methods, namely physical, chemical and biological methods (Ghormade et al., 2011; Mittal et al., 2013). The chemical method is widely used for the synthesis of NPs in large quantities using organic solvents and reducing agents for example: elemental hydrogen, sodium ascorbate, sodium citrate and sodium borohydride for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Khatoon et al. , 2011). The size of the NPs depends on the strength of the reducing agent, the higher the reduction rate the smaller the particle size and vice versa. Recently, biological synthesis, a non-toxic method, is becoming popular and is widely practiced (Reisner, 2012). The use of this organic method is having moreadvantages over other methods, viz. , free of toxic chemicals, less expensive chemicals, faster and easier to synthesize, and easily alters particle size. Chemical constituents of plants and microbes (proteins, amino acids, enzymes, polysaccharides, aldehydes, ketones, etc.) act as reducing and chelating agents and influence the size, activity and morphology of nanoparticles. Furthermore, these synthesized nanoparticles have more activity (antimicrobial, insecticidal/pesticidal) (Naveena et al., 2018; Pavunraj et al. 2017), longer shelf life, less residue and safer from an environmental point of view than chemically synthesized ones. . Greener synthesis of nanoparticles to combat insect pests: The synthesis of nanoparticles using plant materials, microbes and other natural products is considered a greener synthesis. Greener techniques such as microwave synthesis, ultrasound, hydrothermal, magnetic and other biological methods without contact with reaction media, air and at lower temperatures (Kharissova et al., 2013) are widely practiced. Among the materials used, plant materials have many possibilities and advantages over others in modifying the morphology of the synthesized particles and their bioavailability, which is mainly attributed to the presence of a greater number of secondary metabolites (phenolics, alkaloids) in larger quantities. Secondary metabolites act as reducing and capping agents, thus arresting particle growth and agglomeration. This action prevents any further reaction in the synthesized nanoparticles and leads to increased shelf life/longevity and stability of the particles. The main advantages of the greener synthesis of nanoparticles compared to other methods are: it is simple (one-pot reaction), cheap (without additional chemicals and surfactants), relatively reproducible and often results in more stable materials. Currently, many researchers synthesize different metal nanoparticles (Kharissova et al., 2013) using various types of plants and their parts including leaves, roots, bark, stem and fruits (Mittal et al., 2013; Rajan et al., 2015). They have successfully managed to study the effect of such nanoparticles on insects (most studies were on stored grain insects (Stadler et al., 2010) and very few on other insects), but have not yet confirmed exactly how of action of these nanoparticles when used as pesticides. The synthesis of nanoparticles using the active ingredient with insecticidal activity will be more effective than using the complete extract of the plant parts. However, this process is time-consuming, but precise nanoparticles can be synthesized with less contamination/impurities and higher bioavailability, consequently a minimal amount is sufficient to kill a large number of insects. Karanjin, an insecticidal compound present in Pongamia pinnata, was extracted and used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Fig. 2), which are more stable with improved properties (Naveena et al., 2018). Nano-pesticides Insect pests are the main biotic insect factors affecting agricultural production. Therefore, several powerful insecticides have been used to control insect pests. The main problems with synthetic insecticides are resistance, resurgence and residues. To address these problems, several new formulations such as eco-friendly pesticides, allelic chemicals, insect growth regulators, etc. have been introduced. The main strategy in pest management is to suppress insect pests as early as possible. In this context, the new development more.