Clothes that repel mosquitoes

January 30, 2020 Innovation Valli Sarvani No comments

Mosquitoes cause several infections. Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease is potentially a lethal condition.

Last year, in Karnataka alone, 12,756 dengue cases were recorded. People normally use various mosquito repellents, lotions, creams etc. in addition to coils, sprays and plugins to protect against mosquito bites.

In this context, a 16-year-old girl from Mangaluru came up with an innovative solution. Her innovation is integration of mosquito repellent solution into the clothes. These repel mosquitoes naturally and the cost is ₹14.

For her innovation, Suneetha Moorje Prabhu was awarded the prestigious Bal Shakti Puraskar 2020 for Excellence in the Field of Innovation on Republic Day.

She received a certificate of merit and a cash prize of ₹1 lakh from the Ministry of Women and Children Welfare.

Suneetha is studying at the Centre for Advanced Learning, Mangaluru (CFAL). Being an avid science lover, Suneetha participated in many science exhibitions and fairs. She has been researching issues that need innovative solutions.

Knowing that the number of vector-borne diseases is rising in the country, Suneetha focused on the issue.

There are many mosquito repellent lotions, sprays and devices in the country. Yet, they have to be applied every four to five hours, i.e. the solution is temporary.

The devices that kill mosquitoes are effective in the beginning, but they may not be effective once the mosquitoes build immunity against them.

Observing the facts, Suneetha wanted to find out an effective and affordable solution for it.

She shared this idea with her friend Sanjeev Hotha. Then, both friends researched it and learned that there was a particular dye that can create a strong bond with the cotton fabric.

They tested whether this dye could effectively repel mosquitoes. They developed a solution and authenticated it in the house at IISER, Pune.

The duo won the grand prize for their idea in the IRIS (Initiative for research and innovation for STEM) National Fair held at Manekshaw Centre in Delhi.

Their mosquito repellent solution can be integrated with cotton fabric and it can sustain up to 40 washes.