Mosquito Blood Feeding Prevention Using an Extra-Low DC Voltage Charged Cloth

Abstract

Mosquito vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue pose a major threat to human health. Personal protection from mosquito blood feeding is mostly by treating clothing with insecticides and the use of repellents on clothing and skin. Here, we developed a low-voltage, mosquito-resistant cloth (MRC) that blocked all blood feeding across the textile and was flexible and breathable. The design was based on mosquito head and proboscis morphometrics, the development of a novel 3-D textile with the outer conductive layers insulated from each other with an inner, non-conductive woven mesh, and the use of a DC (direct current; extra-low-voltage) resistor-capacitor. Blockage of blood feeding was measured using host-seeking Aedes aegypti adult female mosquitoes and whether they could blood feed across the MRC and an artificial membrane. Mosquito blood feeding decreased as voltage increased from 0 to 15 volts. Blood feeding inhibition was 97.8% at 10 volts and 100% inhibition at 15 volts, demonstrating proof of concept. Current flow is minimal since conductance only occurs when the mosquito proboscis simultaneously touches the outside layers of the MRC and is then quickly repelled. Our results demonstrated for the first time the use of a biomimetic, mosquito-repelling technology to prevent blood feeding using extra-low energy consumption.

Biomolecular Minerals and Volcanic Glass Bio-Mimics to Control Adult Sand Flies, the Vector of Human Leishmania Protozoan Parasites

“…Phlebotomus papatasi larvae and pupae (stages L3 and pupae P. papatasi , Turkey strain PPTK, NR-44000) were obtained from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, BEI Resources, NIAID, NIH (American Type Culture Collection, 10,801 University Blvd., Manassas, VA, USA) and maintained through the adult stage under Level II biological containment (ACL-2, arthropod) in the Dearstyne Entomology Laboratory (3230 Ligon Street, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA) by methods approved by NCSU Environmental Health and Public Safety (BUA #2019-10-818). Larval pots were placed in a plexiglass (30.48 × 30.48 × 30.48 cm) mosquito rearing cage [ 17 ], housed in a foldable butterfly rearing cage (Restcloud, Chengdu, China) in a walk-in incubator (maintained at 26 °C, 80% relative humidity, and 12:12 (L:D) cycle). The incubator was in a room in the Dearstyne Entomology Building, where the only access door was nominally closed and where the door opening into the room was covered with mosquito netting.…”

Efek Arus Listrik Direct Curent (DC) sebagai Daya Kejut Terhadap Larva Aedes aegypti

“…Selain itu, tegangan arus listrik pada prototipe alat ini aman untuk manusia seperti yang dijelaskan penelitian sebelumnya bahwa tegangan 7 volt arus listrik DC yang diaplikasikan pada pakaian yang berfungsi sebagai proteksi nyamuk masih aman ketika diaplikasikan. 14 Berdasarkan latar belakang tersebut, penelitian ini menganalisis pengaruh penggunaan arus listrik DC sebagai daya kejut terhadap kematian larva Ae. aegypti.…”

Antiparasitic activity of the iron-containing milk protein lactoferrin and its potential derivatives against human intestinal and blood parasites

“…Many studies have suggested the role of plant-based therapy against blood-borne parasites, which are under development and further require in vivo studies (Kaur et al, 2021;Qureshi, 2021;Kamaraj et al, 2022;Benlarbi et al, 2023;Wulandari et al, 2023). Apart from drug treatment strategies, various preventive measures are required to control the spread of these zoonotic infections worldwide (Molyneux, 2006;Ghodsi et al, 2019;Luan et al, 2023).…”