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Researchers use mosquito bites to design new microneedle
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Mosquitoes have been the bane of humans and other warm-blooded creatures forever. Each year, they spread diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus and Zika to millions of people around the world.
But scientists are studying nature’s most common bite, and they believe medicine can learn from it. Researchers at The Ohio State University are using mosquitoes to create a microneedle that can pierce the skin and draw blood without causing pain.
There hasn’t been much innovation when it comes to needle design, researchers said. So, they analyzed the insect’s needle-like mouth, called the proboscis [pro-BOS-es]. They used the most common mosquito in North America for their research: the female Aedes vexans.
So far, researchers have identified four ways the mosquito gets away with its bites. Its proboscis is softest near the tip, and the edges became stiffer and harder as it goes up. This allows for easier insertion into the skin.
Once the proboscis is in, the mosquito injects a numbing agent to lessen the pain.
The part of the proboscis that draws blood, called a fascicle [FAS-ick-el], has a serrated design, kind of like a saw. It also vibrates as it pierces the skin. This lessens the force needed to pierce the skin and allowed for easier insertion.
Based on these findings, researchers envision a microneedle that has two needles inside — one to inject a numbing agent and the other to draw blood.
This needle would probably not be used for big procedures, but rather for children or adults who have a phobia of needles.
This invention might mark the first time in human history that anyone has found something good to say about these pesky bloodsuckers.
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