Insecticidal Effect of Zoochemicals Mediated Copper Oxide Nanoparticle Using Marine Sponge Hyattella intestinalis (Lamarck, 1814) and Molecular Docking

Zoochemicals-mediated synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles is related to phytochemical-mediated synthesis of nanoparticles, in which act as reducing agents in nanoparticle synthesis. Zoochemicals are animal compounds that are equivalent to phytochemicals in plants. Today’s nanotechnology is a promising approach for the agricultural industry as an alternative source of pest management with specific targets and reducing environmental adverse effects. The aim of the present study is to investigate the insecticidal activity of Hyattella intestinalis extract, Zoochemicals mediated synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles and molecular docking. The primary target of AChE is inhibited by Z-CuONPs and Hyattella intestinalis extract to cause toxicity in the Tribolium castaneum insect, and AChE inhibitory activity was directly dose-dependent on Zoo-extract and Z-CuONPs (R2 = 0.982 and 0.967), respectively while the IC50 of Zoo-extract (141.10 µg/ml) and CuONPs (118.92 µg/ml), caused the toxicity of the target pest. The index of repellency (IR) was less than 1 (IR < 1) for Z-CuONPs and Zoo-extract which is a response to the significant reduction of the Tribolium castaneum population and statistically agrees with the Chi-square test (X2). The computational approach to the identification of potential protein targets by CuO with binding interactions of Tribolium castaneum odorant binding protein results in novel insect repellent compounds that contribute to reducing storage grain damage and behavioural responses of the target pest. Among the Z-CuONPs and Hyattella intestinalis extract, Z-CuONPs have potential insecticidal activity against Tribolium castaneum. This is the first scientific report recording zoochemical-mediated synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using Hyattella intestinalis extract.