The Activity of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Its Effect on the Housefly Stages Musca domastica

Recently, the housefly Musca domestica has developed a strain that is resistant to many chemical control methods, with the growing prevalence of metal nanoparticles in the environment due to their extensive utilization. The toxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂) has been deemed to be lower, which is regarded as being more environmentally advantageous. Insects are exposed to nanoparticles through various pathways; this investigation sought to characterize and evaluate the morphological effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on M. domestica third instar third larvae by feeding method, as well as pupae and adults arising from treatment in both field and sensitive strains. In this study, the titanium nanoparticles were used in different concentrations (25, 50, 60, and 75 μg/ml) against M. domestica third larval instar, then investigated the results of mortality after 24, 48, and 72 h in both strains, the sensitive strain (S.S.) and the field strain (F.S.). The highest mortality percentage was 77% in S.S. and 0.73% in F.S. After that, the effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticle (TiO₂NP) concentration on the pupae stage weight was calculated, and the lower weight of the pupa was 0.012 mg in F.S. through 75 μg/ml. Then, the adults’ emergency and inhibition were noticed. In addition, the sex ratio and laid eggs in both strains were calculated. Some larvae and pupae were collected for physiological work under electron microscopy to indicate the effectiveness of the nanoparticles at the titanium concentration. As a conclusion, S.S. had a higher mortality rate than F.S. after 72 h of exposure time, as well as a high concentration of titanium nanoparticles (75 μg/ml). As the different concentrations of TiO₂NPs affected pupae weight, adults emerged, inhibiting adults and sex ratio in both strains (S.S. and F.S.), and the most effective on them was 75 μg/ml. The positive control effect of TiO₂NP_S on M. domestica stages, as it is environmentally friendly, encouraged us to recommend focusing on it as a new and safe insecticide in the future for researchers in this field.