Demonstration of Photodynamic Molecules as Larvicides towards the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Each year, mosquitoes serve as a vector to transmit diseases that kill upwards of 750,000 people. Although the need for vector control of these organisms is clear, the misuse of modern pesticides has caused significant ecological damage as well as the development of pesticide‐resistant mosquitoes. Photosensitive insecticide technology has shown potential to minimize ecological damage by targeting classically resistant mosquitoes in new ways. These photoactive molecules, specifically safranin‐O (Saf‐O) and methylene blue (MB), transfer their energy to molecular oxygen to form reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species damage biological systems in the mosquito that differ from the systems excessively targeted by modern pesticides. By targeting new and less resistant biological systems, photosensitive insecticides present a novel strategy for vector control. Currently the literature lacks the in vivo pathway describing ROS generation by photodynamic insecticides. Here we show the generation of ROS in vivo using Saf‐O and MB along with a model of the photodynamic interaction with the Aedes aegypti larva.Support or Funding InformationThe authors would like to thank the Kenyon College Summer Scholars Program for the funding received to pursue this project.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.