I-Corps: Higher-potency Insecticidal Dusts by Solid-State Transformation

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发杀虫配方，延长由于广泛抗药性而失效的当前活性成分的寿命。对外源杀虫化学物质的抗性发展迫使人们需要发明具有新作用机制的新活性成分。这项拟议技术的目标是提供更有效的配方，以改变以前被认为不再有效的现有杀虫剂的用途。重新配制已知的杀虫化合物以提高药效，可能是一种替代昂贵的新活性成分开发的方法。此外，将已知的杀虫化合物重新配制成生物可利用的形式可能会更便宜、风险更低、更环保、更快。几乎没有工程或研发来取代现有的产品。这一努力的成果广泛适用于城市病虫害控制、宠物保护、农业和公共卫生。新产品的市场范围从致命的蚊子控制(美国几十年来首次证实疟疾)到根除床虱，或简单的宠物项圈。通常在五金店销售的产品可能会通过拟议的流程进行重新设计。这一i-Corps项目的基础是开发杀虫化学配方，这些配方使用以前未发现的活性晶体形式的接触性杀虫剂。作为害虫控制的支柱的接触性杀虫剂由于病媒种群的广泛抗药性而失效，这是一项重大的公共卫生挑战。在臭虫和蟑螂等城市害虫中也发现了抗药性。作用于接触的杀虫剂通常涉及晶体，但利用同一化合物不同晶体的相对活性还没有被研究过。这项拟议的技术已被证明可以克服西非抗药性疟疾蚊子的抗药性。在这项研究中，常见的杀虫剂溴氰菊酯被重新配方，以包含一种新的固体形式的活性成分分散在白笔上。这种新的固体形式是通过一种简单而廉价的方法原位制备的，这种方法可以增强溴氰菊酯对各种节肢动物的药效。这项拟议的技术可能会增强用溴氰菊酯消灭昆虫的能力，并克服具有令人烦恼的抵抗力的生物体，从而影响疾病预防。这一奖项反映了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 I-Corps project is the development of insecticidal formulations that extend the life of current active ingredients that are failing due to widespread resistance. The development of resistance to exogenous insecticidal chemicalsforces the need to invent new active ingredients with new mechanisms of action. The goal of the proposed technology is to provide more effective formulations that may serve to repurpose existing insecticides that were earlier thought to no longer be effective. Reformulating known insecticidal compounds to increase efficacy may be an alternative to the costly development of new active ingredients. Further, reformulating known insecticidal compounds in more bioavailable forms may be cheaper, less risky, greener, and faster. Little engineering or research and development to replace existing products. The outcomes of this endeavor are broadly applicable to the control of urban pests, pet protection, agriculture, and public health. Markets for new products extend from deadly mosquito control (malaria has been confirmed in the United States for the first time in decades) to bed bug eradication, or simple pet collars. Products commonly sold in hardware stores may be reengineered by the proposed process. This I-Corps project is based on the development of insecticidal chemical formulations that employ activated crystalline forms of contact insecticides that have not been previously discovered. Contact insecticides that are the mainstays of pest control are failing due to widespread resistance among vector populations, a major public health challenge. Insecticide resistance also has been found in urban pests such as bedbugs and cockroaches. Insecticides that work on contact often involve crystals, but exploiting the relative activity of different crystals of the same compound has not been investigated. The proposed technology has been shown to overcome resistance among resistant malarial mosquitoes from West Africa. In this study, the common insecticide deltamethrin was reformulated to contain a new solid form of the active ingredient dispersed on chalk. The new solid form is prepared in situ by a simple and inexpensive method that may enhance deltamethrin’s efficacy against a wide variety of arthropods. The proposed technology may enhance the ability to eliminate insects with deltamethrin, and overcome organisms with vexing resistance that compromises disease prophylaxis.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.