RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Open source 3D printable replacement parts for the WHO insecticide susceptibility bioassay system
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 762849
DO 10.1101/762849
A1 Tomlinson, Sean
A1 Yates, Henrietta C.
A1 Oruni, Ambrose
A1 Njoroge, Harun
A1 Weetman, David
A1 Donnelly, Martin J.
A1 Van’t Hof, Arjen E
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/13/762849.abstract
AB Background Malaria vector control and research rely heavily on monitoring mosquito populations for the development of resistance to public health insecticides. One standard method for determining susceptibility in adult mosquito populations is the World Health Organization test (WHO bioassay). The WHO bioassay kit consists of several acrylic pieces that are assembled into a unit. Parts of the kit commonly break, reducing the capacity of insectaries to carry out resistance profiling. Since there is at present only a single supplier for the test kits, replacement parts can be hard to procure in a timely fashion. Here, we present 3D printable versions for all pieces of the WHO bioassay kit.Results Using widely available polylactic acid (PLA) filament as a printing material, we were able to design and print functional replacements for each piece of the WHO bioassay kit. We note no significant difference in mortality results obtained from PLA printed tubes and WHO acrylic tubes. Additionally, we observed no degradation of PLA in response to prolonged exposure times of commonly used cleaning solutions.Conclusions Our designs can be used to produce replacement parts for the WHO bioassay kit in any facility with a 3D printer, which are becoming increasingly widespread. 3D printing technologies can affordably and rapidly address equipment shortages and be used to develop bespoke equipment in laboratories.ABSacrylonitrile butadiene styreneCADcomputer-aided designDDTdichlorodiphenyltrichloroethaneFFFfused filament fabricationPET-Gpolyethylene terephthalate glycolPLApolylactic acidSTLstereolithographyWHOWorld Health Organisation