Microencapsulation Technology Using Essential Oils to Produce Durable Textile Functionalities

Fabric treatments are highly desirable for apparel, home furnishings, and medical textiles to impart smart functionalities and protect the public from biological threats and other health hazards. While still in its infancy, microencapsulation technology provides the textile industry with a means of imparting finishes and properties to textiles that are cost-effective and safe. Textile manufacturers are demonstrating increased interest in microencapsulation technology to produce encapsulated nano- and micro-particles embedding various active agents, such as insect repellents, dyes, vitamins, antibiotics, and phase change materials in either solid, liquid, or gas form. This research focused on the use of the essential oils using microencapsulation for controlling house dust mites (HDMs) that are consumer and environmentally friendly replacements for synthetic acaricides in terms of their impact on the environment and human health.  This study demonstrated that the clove and thyme essential oils have potential to serve as natural acaricides for controlling house dust mites in the indoor environments. Additionally, the coacervation microencapsulation method was useful for entrapping volatile thyme and clove oils into the microcapsules enclosed with gelatin for long-term uses.