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

这项小企业创新研究项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过引进更安全的驱虫纺织品来加强公众健康。第一阶段的SBIR工作将导致纺织品嵌入一种新的长效驱虫系统，该系统来源于椰子脂肪酸。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一期项目提议测试新的椰子脂肪酸基化合物，该化合物可以通过纺织品浸渍延长驱虫脂肪酸的释放时间。随着人们对避蚊胺（DEET）使用的健康担忧日益增加，以及对氯菊酯具有抗性的蚊子品种越来越多，基于椰子脂肪酸的活性化合物是一种安全有效的替代品。拟议的研究是开发和测试释放系统，该系统将通过降解持有化合物的不稳定化学键逐渐提供驱虫脂肪酸。与所谓的黄金标准合成驱蚊剂（如避蚊胺和氯菊酯）相比，这些正在开发的产品有望提供持久的驱蚊效果。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（色谱或光谱），释放研究，应用试验（使用纺织工业建立的标准方法），以及对活昆虫的现场性能测试（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织物/纺织品与拟议的驱虫系统有效浸渍，并在织物处理的所有步骤后获得合适的释放时间框架。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.