This sttr phase i project is focused on novel bait formulations to control red imported fire ants (rifa)

Foresight Science & Technology Inc. received $181,500 in Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under CFDA 10.212, with an award date of September 15, 2025, and a completion date of September 14, 2026. This project focuses on developing novel bait formulations to control red imported fire ants (RIFA) by addressing a critical commercialization barrier—the aversion of foraging worker ants to previously developed active ingredients due to taste aversion. The company is pursuing taste-masking techniques using cyclodextrins, pharmaceutical-grade entrapment agents that form inclusion complexes with the active ingredients, thereby inhibiting contact between the bitter compound and the ants' taste receptors and enabling successful field ingestion of the bait.

This Phase I effort represents a critical step in translating laboratory-proven fire ant control technologies toward commercially viable products. By demonstrating technical feasibility of cyclodextrin-based taste masking as an adjuvant for insect control—a pharmaceutical application not previously utilized in pest management—the project aims to overcome field performance limitations and establish a pathway for Phase II development and eventual market deployment of an environmentally neutral alternative to chemical pesticides.

Prior research discovered novel active ingredients (AIS) for fire ANT control that successfully caused mortality of rifa colony workers and their queen under laboratory conditions. However, IT was clear in field trials that foraging worker ants would not ingest the bait due to taste aversion. The main objective of this project was to overcome the negative taste of the AI to rifa in the field using taste masking agents that are widely used in human and animal medications. Several techniques for masking the aversive taste of the AIS were evaluated, including tastemasking flavors, e.g., fruit juices, sweeteners (nectars); and phagostimulants (oils, non-dairy milks substitutes). These techniques represent the simplest approach to taste masking, especially in the case of liquid formulations. However, this approach was not successful, since field ants rejected the material provided. Therefore, our focus shifted to a class of complex entrapment agents that are currently used as taste masking agents in the pharmaceutical industry but have not been utilized as adjuvants for insect control. Cyclodextrins have been extensively used for masking bitter drugs by forming inclusion complexes with the drug molecule. Cyclodextrins (?-, ?-, and ?-cyclodextrin) are unique bucket- shaped cyclic oligosaccharides containing at least six d-(+)-glucopyranose units attached by alpha-(1,4)-glucosidic bonds with a molecular structure featuring a hydrophobic cavity and hydrophilic exterior. Taste masking is achieved by inhibiting contact of the bitter AI with the taste receptors. In an aqueous environment, cyclodextrins form inclusion complexes with many lipophilic molecules through a process in which water molecules located inside the central cavity are replaced by either a whole molecule, or more frequently by some lipophilic structure of the molecule. Preliminary and follow-up research for the first time demonstrated the potential of this novel taste masking approach to overcome the taste sensitivity of a pest insect. The research establishes proof of concept for the use of taste masking agents used in human and animal medications to mask the negative taste of the new AIS. Our objective for the sttr phase 1 period is to apply and expand on the knowledge of the pharmaceutical ingredients in overcoming adverse tasting drugs to control rifa (including sub species) in laboratory and then followed in the field. The use of taste masking agents for insect control and for rifa control specifically represents new intellectual property. Standard procedures in screening for new insect toxicants dictate that compounds rejected by the target pest are eliminated from further evaluations. Thus, our proposal is unique, and success will provide a new paradigm for active ingredient screening in general. Practically, this will enable field evaluations with the goal of establishing this, approach as a platform technology for a broader range of pest ANT control products.