Advances on green synthesis, the insecticidal activity and mechanism of silver nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used in different fields due to unique properties. Because the chemical synthetic process of AgNPs has some disadvantages such as complicated process, high energy consumption, high toxicity of solvents and severe pollution, the research on green synthesis of AgNPs has attracted much attention. In addition, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles refers to the reduction of Ag⁺ in silver nitrate to nanoscale silver using fungi, bacterial culture supernatant and plant extract as reductants or stabilizers, which has the advantages of high stability, low toxicity and greenness. Therefore, some researchers have investigated the effect of biological AgNPs on pest control base on green synthetic nanomaterials to further explore the possibility of replacing traditional chemical pesticides with nanomaterials. This review summarized the progress of biosynthesized AgNPs using different biomaterials in recent years , reported the toxicity of biogenic AgNPs to arthropod vectors and agricultural pests and the known action mechanism , and discussed the exposure risk of biogenic AgNPs to organisms and environment on ecotoxicology. Moreover, the potential opportunity and challenges of biogenic AgNPs production have been prospected.