Personal Health Care Research, Kao Corporation, 2-1-3 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, 131-8501, Japan.
RIKEN CBS-KAO Collaboration Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 9;13(1):2355. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29455-6.
Mosquitoes carry lethal pathogens for humans and hundreds of thousands of people are killed by mosquito-borne diseases every year. Therefore, controlling mosquitoes is essential to protect the lives of people around the world. Insecticides are highly effective in controlling mosquitoes and have been used extensively worldwide. However, they have potentially harmful effects on biodiversity and environment, and some mosquitoes are resistant to insecticide ingredients and survive upon their application. Therefore, there is a demand for a method to control mosquitoes without using conventional insecticide ingredients. Here, we used Aedes albopictus to test whether solutions with low surface tension, particularly surfactant solutions can alter mosquito behavior by spreading over the hydrophobic cuticle of mosquitoes. We found that solutions with low surface tension indeed attached to mosquitoes flying or resting on the wall, and made them fall. In addition, solutions with yet lower surface tension covered the mosquito surface more quickly and widely, knocking down or killing mosquitoes. These results suggest that surfactants such as sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate can be used to alter mosquito behavior without relying on conventional insecticides.
蚊子携带致命的人类病原体，每年有数十万人死于蚊子传播的疾病。因此，控制蚊子对于保护世界各地人们的生命至关重要。杀虫剂在控制蚊子方面非常有效，已在全球范围内广泛使用。然而，它们对生物多样性和环境有潜在的有害影响，而且有些蚊子对杀虫剂成分具有抗性，并在使用后存活下来。因此，人们需要一种不使用常规杀虫剂成分来控制蚊子的方法。在这里，我们使用白纹伊蚊来测试表面张力低的溶液，特别是表面活性剂溶液是否可以通过在蚊子的疏水表皮上扩散来改变蚊子的行为。我们发现，表面张力低的溶液确实可以附着在飞行或停在墙上的蚊子上，使它们掉落。此外，表面张力更低的溶液更快更广泛地覆盖蚊子表面，击倒或杀死蚊子。这些结果表明，十二烷基硫酸钠等表面活性剂可以用于改变蚊子的行为，而无需依赖传统杀虫剂。
