2023-06-10 16:36:00
The spring heat is accompanied by the great return of mosquitoes. But researchers have developed a mosquito repellent that would prevent getting bitten.
Towards the end of mosquito bites? Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are confident they have found the miracle cure to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
In any case, this is the conclusion of the work published in PNAS Nexus, the journal of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States in an article dated April 2023.
Establish effective protection
Mosquito bites are a real scourge. Beyond the itching triggered by the bites, which is very unpleasant and somewhat uncomfortable, the mosquito is above all a disease vector : Paludism, Dengue, Chikungunya…
Scientists have therefore worked on a repellent that prevents bites and thus prevents the transmission of diseases.
The principle
Researchers have developed a repellent by combining two ways of fighting mosquitoes.
They first worked on cellulose nanocrystals which make it possible to form a protective layer on the skin when it is applied and serving as chemical barrier to bites.
They demonstrated that just with this cellulose, the skin was 80% protected. “A very effective chemical camouflage”say the scientists.
Then they combined this “layer” with the disposition. This aromatic organic compound which give off an odor which keeps mosquitoes away, or rather which confuses the insect by preventing it from detecting human odor and therefore the possibility of targeting the body.
“The combined effect of CNC with indole reduced oviposition following exposure to mammalian blood close to zero with 99,4 % fewer eggs compared to the control”, reports the study.
Protection soon to be on the market
According to Jonathan Bohbot, one of the study’s authors : “The combination of this cellulose polymer and the scent repellent is the perfect personal protection system with a long-range and long-lasting effect“, as reported Euronews.
The team of researchers hope to be able to put this revolutionary repellent on the market as early as 2024.
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