A new study has explored the possibility of using graphene-based materials for insect bite protection. The use of graphene could eliminate the need for harsh or odorous chemical repellents while still protecting humans from mosquitoes carrying infectious viruses such as Yellow Fever, West Nile and Zika. “These findings could lead to new protective methods against mosquitos, without the environmental or human health effects of other chemical-based repellents,” said Heather Henry, a health scientist.

The researchers in the study discovered that dry graphene film seemed to interfere with mosquitoes’ ability to sense human skin and sweat because the mosquitoes didn’t land and try to bite. By looking closely at the videos taken of the mosquitos in action, they noticed the insects landed much less frequently on graphene than on bare skin. The graphene film also appeared to provide a robust barrier between the elements and the skin.

Robert Hurt from Brown University began several years ago designing suits with graphene to protect workers against hazardous chemicals at environmental clean-up sites. Graphene is invisible to the naked eye but “harder than diamonds, stronger than steel and more conductive than copper,” according to the study. In a 2014 article, writer John Colapinto said that researchers who studied graphene in the mid- 2000s determined the material was “the thinnest material in the known universe” and “a hundred and fifty times stronger than an equivalent weight of steel.” He also noted that graphene was “as pliable as rubber and could stretch to a hundred and twenty percent of its length.”

PROKOS, Hayley. Disponível em: <http://www.newsweek.com>. Acesso em: jan. 2021. Adaptado.