Longer mosquito control using a sodium alginate–chitosan nanocarrier for cinnamaldehyde in larvicide formulations

The proliferation of mosquito-borne diseases is a major health concern worldwide. An effective strategy to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases is using larvae control. Cinnamaldehyde, a substance from the cinnamon tree, is widely used in larvicide formulations, yet applications are limited due to the poor water solubility of cinnamaldehyde. Therefore, we prepared a sodium alginate–chitosan nanocomposite as a nanocarrier of cinnamaldehyde, and we tested the effect of this encapsulated cinnamaldehyde on Aedes aegypti larvae. The nanocomposites/cinnamaldehyde formulations were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, which evidenced encapsulation. A ratio of 150:1 w/w nanocomposite/cinnamaldehyde induced the highest encapsulation efficiency of 95.25%, a loading capacity of 81.42%. This extended the cinnamaldehyde release by 28 h and controlled mosquito larvae.