Termiticidal Effects and Morpho-Histological Alterations in the Subterranean Termite ( Odontotermes formosanus ) Induced by Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, and Chitosan Nanoparticles.

Recently, nanoparticles have been widely used in agricultural pest control as a secure substitute for pesticides. However, the effect of nanoparticles on controlling the subterranean termite Odontotermes formosanus ( O. formosanus ) has not been studied yet. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of some nanomaterials in controlling O. formosanus . The results showed that zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs), and chitosan nanoparticles (CsNPs) biosynthesized using the culture filtrate of Scedosporium apiospermum ( S. apiospermum ) had an effective role in controlling O. formosanus . Moreover, the mortality rate of O. formosanus after 48 h of treatment with ZnONPs, TiO 2 NPs, and CsNPs at a 1000 µg/mL concentration was 100%, 100%, and 97.67%, respectively. Furthermore, using ZnONPs, TiO 2 NPs, and CsNPs on O. formosanus resulted in morpho-histological variations in the normal structure, leading to its death. X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and the Zeta potential were used to characterize the biosynthesis of ZnONPs, TiO 2 NPs, and CsNPs with strong activity against O. formosanus termites. Overall, the results of this investigation suggest that biosynthesized ZnONPs, TiO 2 NPs, and CsNPs have enormous potential for use as innovative, ecologically safe pesticides for O. formosanus control.