A gadget created at the University of Florida for the U.S. military gives protection against mosquitos for a lengthy duration and needs no heat, power or skin contact.
The controlled-release passive device was invented by Nagarajan Rajagopal, a Ph.D. candidate and Dr. Christopher Batich in UF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. It recently was tested successfully in a four-week semi-field research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Gainesville in a partnership with Dr. Daniel Kline, Dr. Jerry Hogsette and Adam Bowman from the USDA’s Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology.
Results revealed the controlled release of the repellent transfluthrin was successful in keeping numerous kinds of mosquitos from accessing the testing location. Transfluthrin is an organic pesticide regarded to be harmless for people and animals.
“Our technology removes the need for using topical repellents and for pesticides that are sprayed over an open area, which might contaminate neighbouring plants or bodies of water and have a detrimental influence on helpful pollinators like bees and butterflies,” Rajagopal said. “This is adaptable, portable, quickly deployed and doesn’t need energy or heat to activate the solution.”
Mosquitos are more than a bothersome distraction for military troops, as they may carry dangerous infections and viruses including malaria, dengue virus, Zika and West Nile virus. The DOD regularly explores for methods to safeguard troops in the field against mosquito bites. The controlled release passive device is made consisting of a tube-shaped polypropylene plastic that is 2.5 centimetres long and houses two smaller tubes and a cotton carrying the repellant.
The researchers fastened 70 of the gadgets to the entrance of a huge military tent using fishing line and nothing to a comparable control tent. Caged mosquitos were released at different spots around the outside of the tent, and virtually all were killed or repelled within 24 hours, Rajagopal said. He stated that although the field test revealed the team’s prototype produced a safe area from mosquitos for four weeks, the final product, which would be made using a 3-D-printing technique, might prolong that duration up to three months.
“We call our technology passive since you don’t need to do anything to activate it,” he stated. “It gives a steady release of the insecticide over a lengthy time rather than simply a spike at the beginning.”
Rajagopal said they are applying for a patent on the gadget, and the government is interested in additional investigation, so that it may ultimately be sold for the civilian market. USDA experts think there are greater prospects for its utilisation by persons who like outdoor sports.
“While first created for tent-entrance protection, the personal protection device in different sizes and configurations has promise for additional uses, including for hiking and fishing,” said Kline, a research entomologist with the USDA.
Kline stated that they would explore different active components in addition to transfluthrin to enhance its potential.
“It doesn’t end with mosquitos,” Rajagopal remarked. “We hope to prove that it will work with other insects, notably ticks, which represent a problem by producing Lyme disease.”
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