The molecule, stable and effective, would also have a lower environmental impact since smaller doses would be sufficient
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himI pyrethroids they are among the most used and effective insecticides against mosquitoes but these insects are developing resistance to these substances.
Mosquitoes are not only annoying, they are a vector of dangerous diseases, including malaria. The disease, still widespread in Africa, is responsible for around 400 deaths each year and predicts that the number of deaths could double in 2020 due to disruptions to supply chains due tosanitary emergency.
Action is therefore very urgent and researchers are constantly testing new solutions for contain the spread of mosquitoes.
However, new insecticides can be expensive and difficult to introduce in low-income countries, so it's important to find cheap and simple methods.
In a recent study, a group of researchers worked on deltamethrin, a pyrethroid already in use against mosquitoes, and found that heating the substance for a few minutes at 110 ° C causes the molecule's crystals to arrange themselves in a different conformation. and equally stable.
Testing the molecule on Anopheles quadrimaculatus and Aedes aegypti was successful 12 times more effective compared to the starting conformation.
Obtaining the new conformation has low costs and allows to produce an extremely active insecticide against mosquitoes even in the presence of high levels of resistance to pyrethroids.
The new form of insecticide would also have faster action and would allow for less environmental exposure and lower costs as they would be sufficient smaller doses of insecticide to get results.
Thanks to this new molecule, the spread of mosquitoes could therefore be contained in an economic way, preventing the transmission of malaria and, at the same time, it would reduce the environmental impact linked to the use of the insecticide.
Fonte di riferimento: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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