SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a long lasting organic formulation to effectively manage and suppress populations of mosquito vectors of disease. The banning of DDT and other persistent mosquito larvicides several decades ago has created a major gap in vector management that has yet to be effectively filled by generations of environmentally friendly chemicals and formulations that followed. The consequences are tangible to the human population worldwide. We are currently experiencing more pain, suffering, and deaths from mosquito transmitted diseases than when DDT was available. Biological larvicidal formulations have been proven safe and effective in controlling mosquito larvae, with the caveat that they have a very short field life which requires frequent reapplications to sustain control, in turn making them too expensive for adoption by most areawide vector control programs. Because of this, biological larvicidal formulations are seldom used preventatively. This SBIR project will bridge this gap and increase the longevity, and usability, of biological larvicides. Success will result in direct mitigation of soil and waterways pollution commonly associated with conventional pesticides for mosquito control. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are, if this SBIR project is successful, the development of a biological, long lasting larvicidal formulation that will significantly change the way parasitic mosquitoes are managed worldwide, making it much more effective, reducing disease and suffering, and saving lives while significantly reducing non-target effects and environmental pollution. This is a worldwide market opportunity of over $2B/year.

We propose to develop SPLAT BAC, a novel mosquito control formulation targeting multiple species of disease vectors around the world, through a controlled-release formulation of bacterial larvicides, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus. SPLAT BAC is intended for outdoor application prior to the rainy season, a characteristic that represents an invaluable advantage over previous mosquito control methods, most of which target only indoor-feeding mosquitoes, and rely upon conventional insecticides. SPLAT BAC is an environmentally friendly, sprayable formulation that will be applied to flood plains and other mosquito breeding sites up to one month before the start of the rain season, and will affix to the application site until being submerged by a flooding event. The SPLAT BAC point sources will detach from their substrates following a submersion period designed to correspond with peak larval emergence, and float to the surface of the water, where most mosquito larvae rest and feed, thereby ensuring the release of the bacterial larvicides into the larvae's environment at the precise time and location that they will be most likely to respond to and feed upon them. The Phase II objectives designed to further the development of this novel pest control solution are as follows: 1. Create a universal SPLAT BAC mosquito larvicide formulation, effective against multiple mosquito vectors worldwide. Laboratory bioassays and efficacy studies will be conducted against several mosquito vector species, evaluating the performance of SPLAT BAC with additional attractive components: oviposition attractants and two promising phagostimulants, blood meal and yeast, as well as field aging and environmental tests to ensure that SPLAT BAC behaves as required for a preemptive mosquito control product. 2. Optimize SPLAT BAC for ultra-versatile and cost-effective application with manual, mechanical, ground, and aerial equipment. A broad range of manual and mechanical application equipment will be tested with SPLAT BAC in the lab, both for ease of use and to determine the impact of application method upon the product's efficacy and field life. Specialized Backpack and ATV-based equipment will also be designed specifically for SPLAT BAC. 3. Demonstrate the potential of SPLAT BAC for adoption by mosquito control programs in the United States. This work will be conducted in collaboration with vector control professionals in multiple states to evaluate the potential of SPLAT BAC for incorporation into public and private mosquito control programs. 4. Develop SPLAT BAC application procedures for effective, affordable mosquito control in the developing world where MBDs have the most devastating impacts BAC will be tested for its efficacy against key African vector species, as well as its ability to function as designed under the more challenging environmental conditions present in tropical regions. Large-scale field trials will also be conducted with the cooperation of mosquito control professionals in east Africa, to determine SPLAT BAC's capacity to suppress vector populations in this region, as well as the most effective application methods for these environments.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
8. PROJECT NARRATIVE Mosquito transmitted diseases affect millions of people every year, and insecticide resistance is becoming more prevalent. We have created SPLAT BAC, an economical product that has proven to be highly effective in controlling mosquito populations using stacked AIs, therefore mitigating insecticide resistance and potentially reducing MBD transmission globally. Since our product is affordable, deploys easily, and is safe to humans and the environment, the U.S. and areas of the world that are consistently afflicted by devastating mosquito transmitted diseases will benefit greatly from SPLAT BAC.

Project Terms:
Adoption; Aedes; Affect; Africa; Aging; Anopheles; Anopheles Genus; Bacillus; Bacillus (bacterium); Bacillus thuringiensis; Beds; Behavior; Biologic Assays; Bioassay; Assay; Biological Assay; Blood Reticuloendothelial System; Blood; Breeding; youngster; childrens'; children; Children (0-21); Child Youth; 0-11 years old; Child; Culex; Culex (Genus); Death; Cessation of life; Under-Developed Nations; Under-Developed Countries; Third-World Nations; Third-World Countries; Less-Developed Nations; Less-Developed Countries; Developing Nations; Developing Countries; True Flies; Diptera; Disorder; Disease; Disease Vectors; Environment; environmental testing; Ecological Monitoring; Ecologic Monitoring; Environmental Monitoring; Equipment; Female; Flooding; Floods; geographic site; Geographical Location; Geographic Region; Geographic Area; Geographic Locations; Government; ontogeny; Tissue Growth; Generalized Growth; Growth; Health; Modern Man; Human; Industrialization; Insecticide Resistance; insecticide resistant; Insecticides; Insecta; Insects Invertebrates; Insects; Laboratories; Larva; Life Cycle Stages; life course; Life Cycle; Malaria; Plasmodium Infections; Paludism; Manuals; Methods; Mosquito Control; Culicidae; Mosquitoes; United States National Institutes of Health; National Institutes of Health; NIH; Oviposition; Pest Control; Pesticides; Pheromone; Privatization; Rain; Reproduction; Resources; Research Resources; Rest; Risk; Science; Seasons; Submersion; Technology; Testing; Time; United States; Hydrogen Oxide; Water; Work; Yeasts; Ectohormones; Semiochemicals; Killings; base; improved; Application procedure; Site; Area; Surface; Phase; Medical; Ensure; Chemicals; Ingestion; sucking; African; infectious disease transmission; communicable disease transmission; disease transmission; Collaborations; Industrialized Nations; Industrialized Countries; Developed Nations; Developed Countries; Deposition; Deposit; tool; Life; programs; Mechanics; mechanical; Adopted; Event; Source; Pattern; Location; Mosquito-borne infectious disease; Mosquito-borne disease; preference; Performance; toxicant; Gravidity; Practice Management; novel; offspring; controlled release; Intervention; interventional strategy; Intervention Strategies; Address; Data; Small Business Innovation Research; SBIR; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Transmission; transmission process; Characteristics; developmental; Development; Vector-transmitted disease; Vector-borne infectious disease; Vector-borne disease; Vector-transmitted infectious disease; vector mosquito; vector control; vector; feeding; designing; design; novel strategy; novel approaches; new approaches; novel strategies; cost effective; cost-effective; Resistance development; developing resistance; Resistant development; pathogen; Population; Prevalence; aged; innovation; innovative; innovate; egg; commercialization; Formulation; Gravid; efficacy study