Automated Insect Dissection to Improve Development of Malaria Vaccines and Treatment
Streamlining insect handling for faster workflow, higher throughput and more uniform samples in the laboratory and the field
Technology Overview
Dr. Alexis Kaushansky
Malaria kills an estimated 600,000 people every year. Children are especially vulnerable. Infectious disease expert Alexis Kaushansky, PhD, is studying ways to combat malaria, including developing high-efficacy, long-lasting, effective vaccines against the Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax parasites that transmit the disease to humans via mosquito bite.
To develop and test new antimalarial agents including vaccines, researchers need samples of Plasmodium. Acquiring this material requires obtaining or cultivating mosquitoes that harbor Plasmodium and isolating the insect salivary glands, which contain the highest number of the most infectious parasites.
Current methods for extracting salivary glands are tedious, time-consuming and produce inconsistent samples. The parasites do not survive for long outside of the insects, necessitating rapid dissection. Becoming a skilled dissector who can process hundreds of mosquitoes per hour takes months of training.
To advance malaria research with faster, more reliable methods, Dr. Kaushansky and colleagues invented automated instruments for dissecting and grinding mosquito salivary glands to obtain samples of live Plasmodium parasites. The research team developed an automated mosquito dissector with a robotic mechanical function that quickly separates each mosquito’s head and thorax from its abdomen, sorting the parts into detachable tubes for further processing. This invention significantly reduces dissection time.
The Kaushansky Lab demonstrated that parasites collected and processed using the automated device are comparable in number and quality to parasites obtained through manual dissection. Many parts of the automated device can be 3D printed and adapted for different mosquito species for ecological, agricultural and other applications.
Dr. Kaushansky also invented an automated arthropod grinder. This related device improves the efficiency, consistency and productivity of grinding mosquito salivary glands and other insect-derived material before extracting infectious agents such as malaria parasites. This invention also has broad potential applicability, such as grinding ticks or beetles that carry pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Furthermore, this device can be adapted for applications in plant and insect field research.
When an effective, broadly useful malaria vaccine is available, the automated insect dissection devices could be an essential component of the good manufacturing processes needed to produce it. Installation of the devices in areas where malaria is endemic could help on-site testing to ensure that treatments and vaccines developed in one location will be effective locally. Dr. Kaushansky is interested in partnerships to develop her team’s automated inventions for dissecting and processing mosquitoes and other insects.
Stage of Development
- Device development and validation
Partnering Opportunities
- Collaborative research and development
- Sponsored research agreement
- Consultation agreement
- Laboratory and field trials
Publications
Pitre Z, Seltzer T, Kalthoff C … Kaushansky A. Protocol for assembling and implementing a partially automated system for rearing and handling Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. STAR Protoc. 2023;4(4):102621.
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