Novel, Meso-Substituted Cationic Porphyrin Molecule for Photo-Mediated Larval Control of the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti

Dengue is a life-threatening viral disease of growing importance, transmitted by Aedes mosquito vectors. The control of mosquito larvae is crucial to contain or prevent disease outbreaks, and the discovery of new larvicides able to increase the efficacy and the flexibility of the vector control approach is highly desirable. Porphyrins are a class of molecules which generate reactive oxygen species if excited by visible light, thus inducing oxidative cell damage and cell death. In this study we aimed at assessing the potential of this photo-mediated cytotoxic mechanism to kill Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti mosquito larvae. The selected porphyrin molecule, meso-tri(N-methylpyridyl),meso-mono(N-tetradecylpyridyl)porphine (C14 for simplicity), killed the larvae at doses lower than 1 µM, and at light intensities 50–100 times lower than those typical of natural sunlight, by damaging their intestinal tissues. The physicochemical properties of C14 make it easily adsorbed into organic material, and we exploited this feature to prepare an ‘insecticidal food’ which efficiently killed the larvae and remained active for at least 14 days after its dispersion in water. This study demonstrated that photo-sensitizing agents are promising tools for the development of new larvicides against mosquito vectors of dengue and other human and animal diseases