Synvect Genetically Modified Mosquito Incubation Box 🦟

Mosquito-borne illnesses are among the deadliest and most easily transmittable diseases with 3.9 billion people at risk of contracting just dengue alone. These illnesses are responsible for infecting 700 million people annually with approximately one million of them ending in death. While not all mosquitoes are harmful to humans, there is a small percentage of species that carry and spread disease, an action done through a single bite from a female mosquito. 

The particular mosquito species of interest for this project is the Aedes aegypti. The Aedes aegypti are a common invasive species responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, and zika. They thrive most in warmer climates which is why mosquito season is often associated with Summer and Fall in the United States. However, countries that are closer to the equator who experience warm climate all year long are susceptible to a significantly longer mosquito season. With global warming, these high risk areas will only grow with time as will the burden that they propose.

Aedes Aegypti tend to thrive in warmer climates which raises an issue with warmer seasons extending. While the United States has had very few interactions with the species itself and the diseases that they spread, the Aedes remain rampant across Asia, Africa, and South America and have been for over half a century. In order to decrease this burden of mosquito-borne illnesses, many scientists and organizations have found that SIT, sterile insect technique, is a plausible solution. This technique genetically modifies male mosquitoes to be sterile and releases them into the environment to mate with the wild females, ending their line of reproduction and slowly eradicating the species. 

Sterile insect technique is not a new concept and has been studied since the 1930s to 1940s and was first implemented in the 1950s by Edward F. Knipling. However, while the technique is applicable to the issue of diseases, it has been difficult for companies to implement on a large scale. 

The sponsor of this project Synvect, led by Co-Founder and CEO, Nikolay Kandal and Head of Commercial Strategy, Pooja Y. Patel. Synvect’s goal is to create a product that could eradicate mosquitoes that spread disease through their next generation Sterile Insect Technique (ngSIT) and SEPARATOR products. Because only female mosquitoes bite and mate once in their life, Synvect leverages these characteristics by genetically modifying female mosquitos to be flightless while sterilizing the male mosquitoes. By releasing these sterile male mosquitoes into the environment to mate with wild female mosquitoes without offspring, this would slow down the local mosquito population growth. 

Aedes Aegypti on human thumb (licensed google LLC)

The goal of this project is to create a mosquito suppression box that allows for the development of mosquito eggs so that male mosquitoes can easily exit the box while the flightless female mosquitoes are contained. The final product would allow users to simply add water and mosquito eggs, attach the lid, and hang/place outside for the duration of mosquito season or until the water and/or eggs need to be replaced. The box should be reusable for multiple mosquito seasons so users would just have to remove any remaining water and add more mosquito eggs, water, and food to repeat the process. The objective for this project is to develop a reusable mosquito control box that anyone around the world can use to implement Synvect’s ngSIT and reduce mosquito populations and diseases spread. Synvect plans to eventually use their technology in developing countries where mosquito-borne illnesses are more widespread. The function requirements adn deliverables of the incubator were outlined by the sponsor as follows.

Requirements

• Simple, single bowl and lid design

• Two size options: 1 and 2 liters

• Dark color and opaque to limit ambient light inside of the bowl

• Three 0.635cm (¼”) holes in the lid to allow male mosquitoes to exit

• Maximum water depth of 10.16cm (4”)

• Minimum 5.08cm (2”) of space between the lid and water

• Egg/food pod should be able to be attached at any depth using a magnet

• Mechanism to hang the box

Deliverables

• At least 10 vacuum molded containers with tight fitting lids to grow and release mosquitoes this summer in Texas and Florida

• Method to hang the container 

• Sturdy, reusable molds for vacuum forming more containers and lids in the future

• Method of manufacturing that could be easily repeated (ideally mass produced)

The final design solution consists of three key components: the bowl, the lid, and the hanging mechanism. The bowl features a tapered rectangle geometry that holds one liter of water. The removable lid attaches to the bowl with a snap fit mechanism and has holes that act as a passageway for the male mosquitoes to exit the container once they have developed. The hanging mechanism allows the container to be used in various locations and keeps small animals from being able to open or damage the container. The materials were amply researched, tested, and selected for specific properties for each component. The availability and affordability of the finalized materials were also considered. For the bowl, black HDPE was chosen because of its mechanical properties (rigidity, durability, tensile strength, and ability to be vacuum formed), price, availability, chemical, and food grade properties. The lid is made out of white styrene because of its ease of use and standard application in vacuum forming manufacturing. The white styrene is then painted green to blend in with the environment and deter outside mosquitoes and bugs from going into the container, and the entire outside of the bowl and lid are coated in a UV protectant coating. 

More information on Final Design

The main performance requirements of the incubator from the sponsor were the following, along with the requirements and deliverables above

• Box must have a removable lid that does not break after extended time in the sun

• Box must be able to withstand at least 8 months (standard mosquito season) of exposure to elements, ideally longer

• Lid must not be white, ideally green or yellow to repel other wildtype bugs

• Box must be opaque and not allow light through

• Box can be hung to release mosquitoes from above the ground

• 3 0.635 cm (¼” inch) holes minimum are needed for adequate release of the male mosquitoes

These requirements were all met and are expanded upon in the executive summary and the final report, were all met by the final incubator design.