Abstract
Dengue fever is the most serious vector-borne disease in Asia. There are still no dengue vaccines or therapeutic drugs, and vector-mosquito control is the main prevention and treatment method. The prevention and control of dengue-fever vector mosquitoes in Taiwan is still dominated by larval control. However, the removal of the source of mosquito-borne diseases has not been fully implemented, and the removal process of vector-borne mosquitoes cannot keep up with their breeding rate. In addition, chemical agents used in the elimination of pathogenic mosquitoes may cause mosquito resistance and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is important to develop new prevention and control technologies. This study is dedicated to the development of a mosquito trapping optical system with high efficiency and low glare that is safe for humans. The system is mainly equipped with ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LED), a freeform-surfaced optical reflector, and a photocatalyst. The reflector can lead light downward for the protection of user eyes, and expand the range of trapping mosquitoes to 225 π m2. Based on practical experiments, captured mosquitoes increased by about 450% through the proposed system compared to conventional traps using UV LED. In addition, the proposed system is shown to be 45% more enhanced in trapping capability after a photocatalyst (titanium dioxide) coating is applied to its reflector.
Highlights
Mosquitoes are the vector of many diseases, especially in environments with high temperatures and humidity, which are more suitable for the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes and diseases transmitted by them, making them more serious in this kind of environment
Chemical agents used in the elimination of pathogenic mosquitoes may cause mosquito resistance and environmental pollution
A low-glare mosquito trapping system with high trapping capabilities is proposed in this study
Summary
Mosquitoes are the vector of many diseases, especially in environments with high temperatures and humidity, which are more suitable for the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes and diseases transmitted by them, making them more serious in this kind of environment. The prevention and control of dengue-fever vector mosquitoes in Taiwan is still dominated by larval control [5]. Studies of sensitivity of mosquito eye to ultraviolet (UV) rays or short-wavelength visible light have been conducted [8,9,10]. A low-glare mosquito trapping system with high trapping capabilities is proposed in this study. The proposed system is equipped with an optimized optical reflector with a freeform surface coated with a titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst. The reflector can transform the LED source flux as appropriate light distribution in space to attract mosquitoes more . The photocatalyst coating (titanium dioxide) was adopted on the reflector to increase carbon dioxide concentration and simulate human exhalation like in the enviroment, which is demonstrated to increase the power of the proposed device in trapping mosquitoes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
