Mosquitoes are responsible for about 350 million human illnesses each year, and that number is sure to rise as climate change increases the number of disease-carrying insects. A recent study showed how another human impact, light pollution, may play a role in extending the blood-sucking season for mosquitoes.
A new study on bite protection uses cellulose, a readily available natural molecule, to produce a product with 80% less mosquito food on human skin.
Cellulose is cheaply and abundantly sourced from wood industry waste, local food and paper waste, etc., and assembles into nanocrystals when treated with sulfuric acid. These cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are assembled as strong, transparent barrier films.
Scientists have found that when mixed with water and a small amount of glycerol, these CNCs can be applied to the skin in a spray or gel to block a mosquito’s ability to bite it and draw blood.
Daniel Vignac and others/PNAS Nexus
Adult female mosquitoes require blood from humans and animals to lay their eggs, so significantly reducing this food source, especially in populated areas, could be a positive way to control insect populations. You can influence.
CNC and the efficient barriers it forms are developed for a wide range of ‘green’ applications, such as soundproofing, removing dyes from fabrics, and more. It can also be used to create strong bonding agents such as superglue and composites as tough as bone.
in live trial egyptian temple Mosquitoes, Daniel Voniak, Principal Investigator, Robert H. Smith Department of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and colleagues tested CNC-treated and untreated hands and tested them on sealed mosquitoes. The skin was exposed for 10 minutes in the cage. 15 women on average.
As a result, a thin film of CNC gel acted like a chemical camouflage, resulting in an 80% reduction in bites compared to hands exposed to insects without a biomaterial barrier.
Daniel Vignac and others/PNAS Nexus
Further research showed that the CNC coating also blocked the passage of ammonium hydroxide vapor, a common mosquito attractant, when applied to filter paper and exposed to insects.
Popular AE.egyptian and AE.gray hair The species is the vector of more than 22 serious arboviruses, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, and West Nile virus.
Although preliminary, the study shows promise for the development of inexpensive, transparent, natural compounds that can block the release of skin chemicals that alert female mosquitoes to a bloody feast. This inexpensive, scalable technology has the potential to stem the global problem of mosquito-borne diseases.
The research is published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
