162 - The Surprising Intersection of Custom Flight Chambers, Quantitatively Gas Chromatography and Tissue Engineering in Mosquito Research and Spatial Repellents

Abstract: Volatile (i.e., airborne) spatial repellents are powerful tools in the battle against mosquitoes and the diseases they vector. Ideally, these airborne compounds repel mosquitoes and reduce biting/blood-feeding behaviors—all at nonlethal concentrations—thereby decreasing disease transmission without driving resistance selection. Our research therefore focuses on developing benchtop-based platforms to quantitatively define minimum threshold airborne concentrations of spatial repellents (e.g., transfluthrin) that alter mosquito flight and host-seeking behaviors as well as the reproductive impacts of such exposures. Recently we showed that standing, overlaid airborne concentration gradients of host cues (CO2 and BG-Sweetscent) and the volatile spatial repellent transfluthrin (5× and >10×, respectively) can be established in an all-glass wind tunnel/flight chamber of our design. Further, Aedes (Ae.) aegypti females in these environments had both reduced flight and movement activity as quantified by videography. We have also recently developed an engineered model human skin tissue, complete with a microvascular bed and blood, and demonstrated that Ae. aegypti bite and blood feed naturally on these constructs. We aim to converge these efforts into unified platforms for comprehensive assessment of spatial repellents. Here we will overview our unique program that sits at the nexus of custom mosquito flight chambers, active air sampling, quantitative gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tissue engineering.

Support and Disclosures: This research was supported in part by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS, Contract #26399, BJW PI & AKD Co-I). BJW if a founder of and has a 67% ownership stake in Saisijin Biotech, LLC; The Willenberg Lab (BJW, CES & MD) is supported in part by Bayer Cropscience LP. These entities did not support this work in any way and had no role whatsoever in this research. BJW is an inventor on US patent 7,601,525 and application 20180078423 (PCT/US2016/029122).