SBIR Phase I: Long-Lasting Insect Repellent Systems Based on Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过引入更安全的驱虫纺织品来提高公众健康。第一阶段的SBIR工作将导致嵌入从椰子脂肪酸中提取的新的长效驱虫系统的纺织品的开发。该项目将推进一种更安全的驱虫剂，以减少病媒传播的疾病，并消除目前可用的合成产品造成的健康问题。驱虫剂市场目前价值56.4亿美元，拟议的工作将解决合成驱虫剂产生的问题。这个SBIR第一阶段项目建议测试新的椰子脂肪酸化合物，这种化合物能够通过纺织品浸渍延长驱虫脂肪酸的释放时间。随着人们对DEET使用的健康问题日益关注，以及出现越来越多的抗氯氰菊酯蚊子品系，以椰子脂肪酸为基础的活性化合物是安全和有效替代的可行选择。拟议的研究是为了开发和测试释放系统，该系统将通过降解保持化合物的不稳定的化学键来逐渐提供驱虫脂肪酸。与避蚊胺和氯菊酯等所谓的黄金标准合成驱虫剂相比，这些开发出来的产品有望提供更长的驱虫力。SBIR第一阶段的研究将包括概念验证试验、开发准确分析活性成分的分析方法(层析或光谱分析)、释放研究、应用试验(使用纺织行业建立的标准方法)以及活体昆虫的田间性能测试(通过为农业研究设计的调查)。该项目的一个技术挑战将是确保用建议的驱虫系统有效地浸渍织物/纺织品，并在织物处理的所有步骤后获得合适的释放时间框架。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to enhance public health by the introduction of safer insect-repelling textiles. The Phase I SBIR effort will lead to the development of textiles embedded with a new long-lasting insect repellent system derived from coconut fatty acids. This project will advance a safer insect repellent to reduce vector-borne diseases and to eliminate the health issues resulting from currently available synthetic products. The insect repellent market is currently valued at $5.64 billion, and the proposed work will address issues generated by synthetic repellents. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to test new coconut fatty acid-based compounds that enable the prolonged release of insect repellent fatty acids via textile impregnation. With growing health concerns over the use of DEET and increasing occurrences of permethrin-resistant strains of mosquitos, active compounds based on coconut fatty acids are a viable option for safe and effective replacement. The proposed research is to develop and to test the release system that will gradually supply insect-repelling fatty acid via the degradation of labile chemical bonds which hold the compound. These developmental products are envisioned to provide prolonged insect repellency compared to the supposed gold standard synthetic repellents such as DEET and permethrin. The SBIR Phase I research will include proof of concept trials, development of analytical methods for accurate analysis of the active ingredient (chromatographic or spectroscopic), release studies, application trials (using standard methods established in the textile industry), and field performance testing on live insects (via surveys designed for agricultural research). A technical challenge for this project will be ensuring efficient impregnation of fabrics/textiles with the proposed insect repellent system and obtaining a suitable release timeframe after all steps of the fabric treatment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.