Green micro- and nanoemulsions in the fight against parasites, insect pests and vectors

Developing novel, effective and eco-friendly tools to manage parasites, insect pests and vectors is a key and timely challenge. The quick development of resistance to most of the currently used drugs and pesticides should be faced using novel bioactive compounds characterized by multiple modes of action, without adverse effects on human health and the environment. Several natural compounds resulted a suitable alternative to fight parasites, insect pests and vectors, due to their high efficacy and often limited non-target toxicity. Their formulation into nanosystems improves their physio-chemical properties, stability, performance and handling compared to the non-encapsulated compounds. Among different nanosystems, micro- and nanoemulsions represent convenient systems both in terms of preparation and industrial scale-up. They are effective against parasites of medical importance, including Leishmania, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, as well as on agricultural and stored product insect pests or vector of public health importance, such as Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. As regards antileishmanial activity, sulphonamide nanoemulsions were able to target the β-carbonic anhydrase of these parasites. Overall, micro- and nanoemulsions show a real potential for developing successful eco-friendly tools for pest and vector management, pending proper field validation. Further research on technological formulation improvement and chronic toxicity on non-target species is still ongoing.