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Posted: May 8th, 2012 African scientist, designer partner to fashion anti-malaria garmentthat wards off bugs ( Nanowerk News ) A Cornell University scientist and designer from Africa havetogether created a fashionable hooded bodysuit embedded at themolecular level with insecticides for warding off mosquitoesinfected with malaria, a disease estimated to kill 655,000 peopleannually on the continent. Though insecticide-treated nets are commonly used to drive awaymosquitoes from African homes, the Cornell prototype garment can beworn throughout the day to provide extra protection and does notdissipate easily like skin-based repellants. By binding repellantand fabric at the nanolevel using metal organic framework molecules- which are clustered crystalline compounds - the mesh fabric canbe loaded with up to three times more insecticide than normalfibrous nets, which usually wear off after about six months. Sandy Mattei models a design by Matilda Ceesay, a Cornell appareldesign major from Gambia, at the Cornell Fashion Collective RunwayShow, April 28. "The bond on our fabric is very difficult to break," said FrederickOchanda, postdoctoral associate in Cornell's Department of FiberScience & Apparel Design and a native of Kenya. "The nets in usenow are dipped in a solution and not bonded in this way, so theireffectiveness doesn't last very long." The colorful garment, fashioned by Matilda Ceesay, a Cornellapparel design undergraduate from Gambia, debuted on the runway atthe Cornell Fashion Collective spring fashion show April 28 on theCornell campus. It consists of an underlying one-piece body suit,hand-dyed in vibrant hues of purple, gold and blue, and a mesh hoodand cape containing the repellant. The outfit is one of six inCeesay's collection, which she said "explores and modernizestraditional African silhouettes and textiles by embracing thestrength and sexuality of the modern woman." Ochanda and Ceesay, from opposite sides of the continent, both havewatched family members suffer from the disease. Ceesay recalls afamily member who was ailing and subsequently died after doctorstreated her for malaria when she had a different sickness. "It's socommon back home, you can't escape it," Ceesay said. "Seeing malaria's effect on people in Kenya, it's very importantfor me to apply fiber science to help this problem," Ochanda added."A long-term goal of science is to be able to come up withsolutions to help protect human health and life, so this project isvery fulfilling for me." Ultimately, Ceesay and Ochanda hope the outfit they developed willserve as a prototype to drive new technologies for fighting thespread of malaria. On the horizon, Ochanda said, is a fabric thatreleases repellant in response to changes in temperature or light ffering wearers more protection at night when mosquitoes are onthe hunt. At minimum, they hope the technology can be applied tocreate longer-lasting insecticide-laden bed nets. "Although there are already mosquito nets being used, the solutionisn't foolproof," Ceesay said. "People are still getting sick anddying. We can't get complacent. I hope my design can show what ispossible when you bring together fashion and science and willinspire others to keep improving the technology. If a student atCornell can do this, imagine how far it could go.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Industrial Grade UPS , DC UPS Power Supply, and more. For more , please visit Line Interactive UPS today!
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