Threessentials’ Nanoencapsulation for Repellent Application
Threessentials have developed a technology for producing controlled-release mosquito repellent products that are safe and highly effective. In this article, we will provide an overview of mosquito repellents and discuss how Threessentials’ technology works and its benefits.
The key ingredient in mosquito repellent formulations is the active ingredient, which can be DEET, PMD (p-Menthane-3,8-diol), Picaridin, IR 3535, Citronella Oil, etc. These are typically volatile and water-insoluble ingredients. To incorporate them uniformly into a water-based formulation, they are usually “dissolved” in a mixture of alcohol and water or using surfactants.
The active ingredients work by disrupting the function of the mosquitoes’ receptors. The female mosquitoes’ natural receptors can detect carbon dioxide and the “smell” of human skin when searching for their next blood target. The repellent actives evaporate at the vicinity of the repellent-applied skin to disrupt the function of the mosquitoes’ receptors. Hence, as long as there are sufficient molecules of the actives at the skin site to make their receptors go haywire, there will be protection against mosquito bites.
However, these actives are usually very volatile, and they can evaporate too fast, which shortens the protection time of the repellent product. Therefore, manufacturers often increase the concentration of the active ingredients to increase the product’s protection time. However, this approach is not ideal for consumers due to safety, sustainability, cost, and formulation problems.
“Increasing active concentration to prolong protection time is not ideal and has many drawbacks”
Safety Issues
It’s likely that you’re familiar with DEET and the potential hazards of using excessive amounts on our skin. However, DEET is considered safe when applied in appropriate concentrations, although it has been labeled as a “harmful” ingredient by the majority of consumers. Similarly, other active repellent ingredients are also safer when used in lower concentrations. Our data indicates that even a 20% concentration of PMD might not pass the skin irritation test although a 30% concentration has been recommended to provide sufficient protection level.
Sustainability Issues
Threessentials believes in sustainability and simplicity without compromising on efficacy. Instead of wasting Earth’s resources by producing products with excessive ingredients, we opt to use responsibly natural repellent actives as growing these plants and harvesting them requires a significant amount of labor and resources. Moreover, the elaborate manufacturing process involved in refining these oils is energy-intensive. Thus, we aim to use fewer ingredients that are as effective with our technology and minimize our impact on the environment.
Cost Issues
More actives would directly increase the cost of the product. Or with a lower protection product, we would have to apply the product multiple times throughout our activity which translates to multiple times increase in product cost.
Formulation Problems
If we require more oily actives in a water-based formulation, we must increase the amount of alcohol and/or surfactants used. However, these ingredients can harm the skin if not used correctly. Ethanol is hygroscopic and can extract moisture from the skin, resulting in dryness and cracks. There is even a scientific paper that highlights the hazards of ethanol in cosmetic products (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2596158). Additionally, adding more actives and surfactants to the formulation often leads to a thicker, creamier product that cannot be easily sprayed. This is inconvenient as it requires the use of hands to apply the product.
We solve your Problem and Dilemma
Threessentials has developed a technology to trap the active ingredients within biodegradable polymer particles. This technology significantly increases the protection time by three times based on cage test results conducted by third parties. The actives are slowly released from the particles by diffusion. Threessentials’ technology does not require alcohols or surfactants to incorporate the actives uniformly in water, making it a sprayable and halal product.
Threessentials’ controlled-release mosquito repellent product also has excellent formulation stability due to the particle size of the encapsulated actives typically being below a micron. Skin adhesion tests show that their product can be better retained on skin with perspiration wash-off due to the nature of their biodegradable polymer, which has adhesion properties on skin.
“Threessentials has developed a proprietary biodegradable polymer encapsulation technology to enable high protection at low active concentration”
Threessentials’ technology can encapsulate most repellent actives like DEET, PMD, Picaridin, IR 3535, Citronella Oil, etc. The company has conducted mosquito cage tests to test the efficacy of their controlled-release repellent based on both DEET and PMD-rich oil. Threessentials’ controlled-release repellent containing 10% PMD-rich oil (75% PMD content) can have approximately three times the protection level of a normal repellent containing the same concentration of PMD-rich oil. Threessentials’ controlled-release repellent containing 10% DEET can have similar or better protection level than a well-known controlled-release commercial product with 20% DEET concentration.
At the moment, we have worked with Misthree to create Misthree Natural Mosquito Repellent based on the US EPA approved PMD active. Protect yourself and your loved ones from dengue and itchy mosquito bites. Grab one to ensure the best and safest protection for your family now!
