Polymeric matrix loaded with tick repellent or toxic compositions for incorporation into fabrics or for granular dispersal

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Project Summary/Abstract Within the US, ticks transmit 18 human pathogens, one of the most serious being Lyme disease, with an estimated 476,000 cases per year. Current tick management and human repellent and toxic products were designed either with protection against ticks as an “after-thought” or through the use of a pyrethroid insecticide to which ticks are increasingly developing resistance. There is also a current push by consumers to use natural and organic pest control products. As global temperatures rise, leading to a higher incidence of tick-borne diseases, there is a critical need for improved tick management products. This Phase II application will build on the development of novel polymeric microparticles as carriers of non-volatile acaricides by BanfieldBio for the DWFP award on “Murine autodissemination for long-term, area-wide control of ticks”. Based on encouraging preliminary evidence, we propose to adapt the polymeric microparticles to manufacture microporous polymeric granules and fibers that can be formulated to release volatile repellents and toxicants. Formulated granules would be used in landscape treatments to kill and repel ticks, and the fibers would be woven into outerwear fabrics to protect humans from acquiring and being bitten by ticks. Candidate active ingredients are nootkatone and 2-undecanone, which could be used alone or in combination with each other and/or permethrin. The project will target two species, blacklegged ticks and lone star ticks, both of which are important vectors of human disease, and will employ laboratory and field experimentation to explore and develop both types of formulation into novel prototype products. The proposed research and development would culminate in five potential outcomes: 1) a proprietary polymeric microporous granular composition formulated with one or more repellent and/or toxic compounds, 2) a demonstration that the formulated granular composition is effective against immature and adult ticks, and ready for scale-up, testing and development as a landscape-level tick preventive treatment, 3) fabric incorporating proprietary polymeric microporous filaments formulated with one or more repellent and/or toxic compounds, 4) demonstration that the fabric formulated with one or more repellent and/or toxic compounds is effective against immature and adult ticks, 5) fabric formulated with one or more repellent and/or toxic compounds manufactured into gaiters, and ready for technology transfer to commercial fabric production and incorporation into multiple types of outerwear clothing. As applicable, patent applications will be filed, the results published in peer-reviewed journals, and pathways to operational implementation and commercialization will be identified and exploited.