From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A professor in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Kaduna State University (KASU), Zakari Ladan, and other co-researchers, have developed a mosquito repellent fabric.
Spokesman of the institution, Adamu Bargo, in a statement, yesterday, said it was part of efforts aimed at ending the malaria scourge in the country and beyond.
According to him, the product was the outcome of a more than N27 million research grant under the 2020 National Research Fund (NRF), of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“This is the first NRF/TETFund grant won by KASU as the host institution, in collaboration with Bingham University and Vaal University of Technology, South Africa,” he said.
He identified the research topic as ‘Development of an Eco-friendly Mosquito Repellent Fabric, Embedded with Nanoparticles Encapsulated with Vitex Negundo Bioactive Compounds’.
He said Ladan, the principal researcher, with a speciality in organic and synthetic chemistry, conducted the research alongside three others.
The spokesman said the other researchers were; Bamidele Okoli, an organic chemist from Bingham University, Uju Ejike, a biochemist from Bingham University, and Mthunzi Fanyana, an expert in nanotechnology from Vaal University of Technology, South Africa.
He added that nightgowns were produced from the fabric, rather than the continuous use of chemical insecticides or mosquito-treated nets with synthetic chemicals.
Bargo explained that the fabric was embedded with nanoparticles encapsulated with Vitex Negundo bioactive compounds for the control of mosquitoes.