Encapsulation in lipid nanosystems of eugenol oxirane insecticide

Essential oils (EOs) have been studied owing to their properties, such as remarkable biological activities and health promoting benefits, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, as well as potential insecticides.

In spite of all their properties, EOs present low water solubility, poor bioavailability, volatility, reduced stability, and low resistance to environmental stresses like light, oxygen, and temperature which difficult their applications.

To mitigate these limitations, EOs can be incorporated into nanoencapsulation systems, this being a promising approach for the controlled release and preservation of their properties.

Considering these facts, in the present work, an eugenol oxirane, namely ethyl 4-(2-methoxy-4-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)phenoxy)butanoate, with promising insecticidal activity, was submitted to encapsulation assays in lipid nanosystems, in order to boost its application as bioinsecticide.