Aug 11, 2021 – There were 200 hungry mosquitos in the plexiglass case, volunteers were ready to sit in it so scientists could test their new bug-resistant fabric to see if anyone who wore it got mosquito bites.
The living, disease-free mosquitoes starved to death overnight and still did not bite, report researchers working with lead author R. Michael Roe from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
The clothing consisted of base layer underwear made from the newly developed fabric, which was worn under a combat shirt developed for members of the military. And according to the inventors, the mosquito-repellent clothing does not require any chemical insecticides.
Each subject stood in the enclosure for 10 minutes and then sat down with knees bent for 10 minutes to test whether the bite-resistant clothing would be impaired if the fabric was stretched or if the distance between the skin and the fabric varied. All of them wore a beekeeping veil in addition to the bite-proof clothing and had no exposed skin, as the mosquitoes can bite through some thin fabrics or clothing with a large fabric.
Defense against virus-carrying mosquitoes
To develop the bite-resistant substance, the scientists used a computer model that analyzed the biting behavior of Aedes aegypti, a virus-transmitting mosquito that can transmit diseases such as Zika, dengue fever and yellow fever to humans.
Specifically, they examined the dimensions of the mosquito’s head, antenna and mouth, as well as the mechanisms by which it stings. And then they adjusted certain properties of their fabric like thickness and pore size to prevent bites.
A test tissue is less than 1 mm thick and has a pore size small enough to prevent the mosquito from penetrating the skin-penetrating proboscis of the mosquito. The second test wipe has medium-sized pores that prevent the mosquito’s head from reaching the skin. And the third fabric has larger pores but is thick enough to keep the mosquito from reaching the skin.
The three substances they developed could also be effective against other mosquito species with similar biology and similar biting behavior, the team suggests.
All three offered more bite resistance than tissue treated with permethrin, an insect repellent.
Insecticide-free clothing could also alleviate concerns about the potential health effects of wearing chemically treated clothing. However, researchers acknowledge that more research is needed to assess safety and develop comfortable outfits that work in a variety of weather conditions.
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Insects: “Mosquito Textile Physics: A Mathematical Roadmap for Insecticide-Free, Bite-Resistant Clothing for Everyday Life.”
R. Michael Roe, PhD, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
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