An Eco-Friendly Approach to the Control of Pathogenic Microbes and <i>Anopheles stephensi</i> Malarial Vector Using Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles (Mg-NPs) Fabricated by <i>Penicillium chrysogenum</i>

• Main Authors: Amr Fouda, Mohamed A. Awad, Ahmed M. Eid, Ebrahim Saied, Mohammed G. Barghoth, Mohammed F. Hamza, Mohamed F. Awad, Salah Abdelbary, Saad El-Din Hassan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: green synthesis; MgO-NPs; pathogenic microbes; <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>; biocontrol; mosquitocidal
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/10/5096
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

The discovery of eco-friendly, rapid, and cost-effective compounds to control diseases caused by microbes and insects are the main challenges. Herein, the magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) are successfully fabricated by harnessing the metabolites secreted by <i>Penicillium chrysogenum</i>. The fabricated MgO-NPs were characterized using UV-Vis, XRD, TEM, DLS, EDX, FT-IR, and XPS analyses. Data showed the successful formation of crystallographic, spherical, well-dispersed MgO-NPs with sizes of 7–40 nm at a maximum wavelength of 250 nm. The EDX analysis confirms the presence of Mg and O ions as the main components with weight percentages of 13.62% and 7.76%, respectively. The activity of MgO-NPs as an antimicrobial agent was investigated against pathogens <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and <i>Candida albicans</i>, and exhibited zone of inhibitions of 12.0 ± 0.0, 12.7 ± 0.9, 23.3 ± 0.8, 17.7 ± 1.6, and 14.7 ± 0.6 mm respectively, at 200 µg mL⁻¹. The activity is decreased by decreasing the MgO-NPs concentration. The biogenic MgO-NPs exhibit high efficacy against different larvae instar and pupa of <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>, with LC50 values of 12.5–15.5 ppm for I–IV larvae instar and 16.5 ppm for the pupa. Additionally, 5 mg/cm² of MgO-NPs showed the highest protection percentages against adults of <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>, with values of 100% for 150 min and 67.6% ± 1.4% for 210 min.