Microporous polyolefin strands as controlled-release devices for mosquito repellents

Abstract

The main vectors of malaria in Africa, i.e. An. arabiensis, An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus, are attracted by human foot odour and they tend to bite victims in the ankle area. Hence, affordable mosquito-repellent polymer-foot bracelets with long lasting protection could reduce infective lower limb bites and therefore help to reduce the overall malaria transmission rate. This study investigated the possibility of increasing the duration of repellence activity by incorporating repellents into inexpensive thermoplastic polymers, namely poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). Volatile repellents need to be released into the surrounding air to be effective, i.e. they are continuously lost to the atmosphere. This means that the bracelet should also act as a reservoir for relatively large quantities of the active compound. Towards this goal, polymer strands containing mosquito repellent were prepared by twin-screw extrusion compounding. A co-continuous phase structure was achieved by rapid quenching in an ice bath of the homogeneous polymer-repellent melt mixture exiting the extruder. Phase separation occurred through spinodal decomposition that trapped the liquid repellent in the microporous polymer matrix. A skin-like membrane that covered the extruded polymer strands controlled the release rate. Strands that contained up to 30 wt-% of either DEET or Icaridin provided effective protection against mosquito bites even after 12 weeks of ageing at 50 °C.