New Technology for Insect Repellent and Trap Markets
| Based on patent pending technology from the University of California (UC) Riverside, an advanced scientific understanding of how blood-feeding insects (e.g. mosquitoes and black flies) utilize their olfactory neurons to detect carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from animals and humans, lays the foundation for the |  |
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development of novel products for the insect repellent and trap markets. The technology uses chemicals that are safe and effective at the low concentrations required for these applications. Developed by Anandasankar Ray, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of UC Riverside's Department of Entomology, the technology can be used as either a repellent by inhibiting the detection of CO2 or as a lure by stimulating the detectors of CO2, depending on the formulation. This radical new approach delivers new, easier to deploy and more cost-effective tools in the fight against the transmission of infectious disease by blood-feeding insects. Traps CO2, which is a major component in emitted or expirated breath by a human or animal, is used by these insects to identify and locate their prey. Current trapping methodologies use very cumbersome methods (tanks of gas) to deliver a CO2 plume as an attractant or lure. The OlFactor Labs solution will effectively simulate the CO2 plume without having to maintain a gas delivery system, eliminating the significant effort in replenishing the lure. Repellents The repellent market today is dominated by topically applied liquid formulas that are messy and have to be reapplied at intervals to remain effective. The OlFactor Labs solution is an area-of-coverage based solution that will protect a physical location from the threat of blood-seeking insects. |
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