They started to develop the materials using a computational model to describe the biting behaviour of Aedes aegypti: the infamous mosquito that carries viruses responsible for diseases like Zika, Dengue fever, and yellow fever.
To develop the model, the researchers investigated the dimensions of the head, antenna and mouth of the insect, and the mechanics of its bite. They used the model to predict textile materials that may be able to prevent bites, depending on their thickness and pore size.
They put the model’s predictions to the test in experiments with live, disease-free mosquitoes. A blood reservoir was surrounded with plastic materials made according to parameters produced from the model; the researchers then counted how many mosquitoes became engorged with blood.
One material they initially tested was less than 1mm in thickness but had tiny pores to prevent mosquitoes from sticking their spiky mouthparts (proboscis) through the material. Another...