Recipient Organization
INSECTAPEL, LLC
10152 GREENVILLE HWY
WELLFORD,SC 293859528
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
For centuries, humans have tried to develop tools to prevent blood-sucking insects from biting and transferring vector-borne infectious diseases. Over a million of human lives could be saved annually by preventing such vector bites. Today the use of insect repellents has been the primary traditional defence practice against these threats. As of now, synthetic repellents such as DEET or Permethrin are preferred over common natural repellents due to their effectiveness and durability, despite reported health, and environmental warnings. Recently, scientists from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) discovered that biobased medium-chain fatty acids derived from coconut oil have shown excellent repellent activity against a broad array of blood-sucking arthropods, including biting flies, ticks, bed bugs, and mosquitoes. For centuries coconut products were used by ancient Maya to keep insects away; until now, households in Central America, India, and Fiji use coconut shells for same purpose. The ARS-USDA research shows that medium-chain fatty acids present in coconuts are even better repellents than DEET and Permethrin. With this project, InsectaPel, working with ARS, aims to develop textile coating systems for incorporating these biobased repellents into textile products. The approach is based on textile coating technology developed by the InsectaPel team in the USDA Phase I. Also, the proposed research will exploit synthesis of active medium-chain repellents using abundant plant oils such as soybean oil and will result in the development of commercially viable insect-repelling textile technology. A significant fraction of synthetic repellents currently used in textiles can be potentially replaced with agriculturally derived alternatives. The proposed research will benefit US agriculture by driving additional demand for medium-chain triglycerides that can be derived from plant oils.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
60%
Developmental
30%
Goals / Objectives
The objective of the Phase II project is to develop a textile coating system suitable for entrapping mosquito-repelling medium chain fatty acids (mCFA) and esters and providing insect-repellent fabrics with extended efficacy. To achieve this objective, a number of technical goals must be achieved:(1) Find the appropriate application techniques for mCFA formulae developed in Phase I;(2) Evaluate insect repellency of mCFAs derived from metathesized soy esters;(3) Screen and evaluate commercial polymeric binders as matrices for entrapping mCFAs (4) Assess durability of fabrics treated with binder-entrapped mCFAs;(5) Optimize coating formulation to maximize durability against laundering;(6) Test performance characteristics for the finished fabrics;(7) Produce prototype garments for performance evaluation by customers.
Project Methods
Our initial task will be focused on evaluating the most effective methods and techniques for the entrapment of mCFA repellents in a polymeric coating system for use on fabrics. Application conditions including formula add-on weights, application types (spray, pad, coat, high pressure exhaustion, UV, extrusion), and cure temperatures will be optimized. Various analytical methods will be used to control the achieved mCFA load on fabric including chromatography, thermal gravimetric analysis and others.New insect repellents based on metathesized soybean oil will be synthesized. Their formula and structure will be confirmed using nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal properties and stability will be evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis.Insect repelling testing on fabrics will be conducted using standard methods exploited by ARS USDA. Commercial DEET and permethrin coatings will be used as control samples.In addition, coated fabrics will be tested for launderability via accelerated laundering.In the final task, the InsectaPel team will conduct optimization trials and generate prototype production for selected formulations and cost assessment for the technology.