Researchers identify novel mosquito repelling molecule

Pune: A team from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) National Chemical Laboratory recently conducted a research on a novel mosquito repellent via the silicon switch approach, where 25 compounds were synthesized. It was found that one molecule offered longer protection time than DEET, considered a gold standard for insect repellent.
The NCL researchers synthesised this novel molecule,which was found to be an effective repellent on the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are causes of fatal diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus.
The team found several compounds from this series appeared to possess good mosquito-repellent properties.
Most notably, the mean protection time for the molecule NDS100100 was 756 minutes, which was higher than that of DEET (616 minutes).
The team was led by Dr. D. S. Reddy, who is the director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu. The team included Akshay S. Kulkarni, Remya Ramesh, Safal Walia, Shahebaz I. Sayyad and Awvalokiteswar Sen. The research was published on November 12 in the journal — American Chemical Society Omega.
Reddy said, “Mosquito control by personal protection is an efficient way of curtailing deadly diseases. DEET has been in use as a repellent for over 75 years and is a gold standard.”
Sen said, “DEET is a viscous, oily substance . It is a skin irritant and can sometimes cause severe epidermal reactions. In view of these limitations, there is an urgent need to develop repellents that are safer and longer-lasting. Our studies indicated that NDS100100 appeared to possess the potential to be developed as an effective mosquito repellent.”
“The molecule needs to undergo several studies before it reaches the market. Discussions are on with leading companies to take this forward for further studies towards commercialization,” Sen added.