The search for long-lasting and effective insect repellents devoid of unwanted side-effects, like toxicity and unpleasant smell, is an important goal towards the prevention of vector-borne diseases.
In a joint effort with the Universities of Florence and Rome “La Sapienza”, coordinated by Prof. Francesca R. Dani, some hydroxylated cyclic acetals from natural or synthetic carbonyl precursors were shown to be new repellents against the mosquito species Aedes albopictus and Anopheles gambiae. The best performing compounds provided extended protection time, at much lower dosing than the widely employed DEET amide.
The results of this work were recently published in Wiley and ACS journals,[1,2] and commented by The Economist and The Guardian.
[1] Iovinella, I.; Caputo, B.; Cobre, P.; Manica, M.; Mandoli, A.; Dani, F. R., Advances in mosquito repellents: effectiveness of citronellal derivatives in laboratory and field trials. Pest Management Science 2022, 78, 5106-5112 (10.1002/ps.7127).
[2] Iovinella, I.; Mandoli, A.; Luceri, C.; D’Ambrosio, M.; Caputo, B.; Cobre, P.; Dani, F. R., Cyclic Acetals as Novel Long-Lasting Mosquito Repellents. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2023 (10.1021/acs.jafc.2c05537).