Montmorillonite immobilized Curcuma aromatica/Zanthoxylum limonella oil nanoconjugate as a green antibacterial and biocompatible material with mosquito repellent attributes

Abstract The article reports an environmentally benign, cost effective and an efficient antibacterial and biocompatible montmorillonite (Mt) nanoconjugate with mosquito repellency attributes. Inspired from the ‘going green’ attributes, the immobilization of a mixture of essential oils onto Mt dispersed in methyl ester of the castor oil (MECO) using ultrasonication is a bio-inspired strategy. The repellent activities of Curcuma aromatica (CA) and Zanthoxylum limonella (ZL) oils are associated with the presence of 6.23% eucalyptol and 17.36% camphor in the former and 45.07% of d -limonene in the latter. The shifting of Si–O–Si stretching vibration from 1031 to 1040 cm− 1 ascertained the interaction of the oil mixture with Mt dispersed in MECO. The essential oils and the immobilized system showed potent antibacterial and biocompatibilty. The immobilized system exhibited (87.5 ± 2.11)% mortality of Aedes albopictus. The immobilized system is thus envisaged as a cost-effective, eco-friendly and efficacious antibacterial mosquito repellent formulation.