Eco-friendly fruit fly control through protein-gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) is a top horticultural pest, affecting a variety of fruits and increasingly damaging extra-early citrus cultivars. Lambda-cyhalothrin, a commonly used pyrethroid insecticide, is losing effectiveness due to resistance in C. capitata, driven by repeated and sublethal treatments. In this work, we have developed an eco-friendly nanosystem based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with lambda-cyhalothrin and capped with hydrolysed corn protein that both attracts protein-feeding insects and seals the insecticide inside. This design protects the active ingredient from premature degradation and photolysis and ensures targeted release-triggered by protease enzymes in the fly’s saliva, thereby activating the insecticide only upon ingestion. Field tests on clementine leaves demonstrated sustained insecticidal activity for over four weeks, far longer than conventional pyrethroid sprays, while minimizing off-target exposure and sublethal dosing.