International Journal of Textile and

Fashion Technology (IJTFT)

ISSN(P): 2250-2378; ISSN(E): 2319-4510
Vol. 5, Issue 3, June 2015, 15-22
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

DEVELOPMENT OF MOSQUITO REPELLENT TEXTILES

USING CHRYSANTHEMUM OIL NANO EMULSION
BHATT. L1 & KALE. R. D2
1

Department of Fibers and Textile Processing Technology, ICT, Mumbai, Maharastra, India

Department of Fibers and Textile Processing Technology, ICT, Mumbai, Maharastra, India

ABSTRACT
This study is carried out for the development of mosquito repellent fabrics using chrysanthemum oil nano
emulsion. The nano emulsion was synthesized using high speed homogeniser. The particle size was analysed using
dynamic laser diffraction particle size analyser. Mosquito repellent textiles were achieved by treating nylon net fabrics with
this nano emulsion using Layer by Layer technique. The finished fabrics were further analyzed for their mosquito repellent
activity using modified WHO excito repellency test and mosquito mortality using WHO cone test. The treated fabrics
showed 100% mosquito repellent efficiency and 90% mortality rate and retained their activity until 25 washes. SEM
analysis of the treated and washed samples was also done. These types of textiles can protect the human beings from the
bite of mosquitoes and there by promising safety from the mosquito borne diseases that include malaria and dengue fever.

KEYWORDS: Chrysanthemum Oil, Mosquito Repellent, Mosquito Mortality, Nano Emulsion, Layer by Layer
Technique

INTRODUCTION
In todays era of modernization of the textile industry, we are going through advancements of technology in every
field of this industry. To ensure our security and safety from the future hazards, we need to equally develop the technology
for our protection (Kumaravel et. al., 2009). Protective textiles are among one of those advancement in textile technology.
It refers to those textile products which have a functionality of giving protection from something in some or the other
sense. Mosquito repellent textile protects the human beings from the bite of mosquitoes thereby protecting from mosquito
borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever. (Gulrajani, 2007).
Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance as biting insects, but are also involved periodically in transmitting disease to
humans and animals. Basically mosquito-repelling textiles are the ones, which exhibit a character of repelling mosquitoes.
This feature was developed as a need in sense of protection from the mosquitoes in which the textile material is given an
anti mosquito finish (Anitha et. al., 2011). There are many natural plant products, which show mosquito repellent
properties. Extracts from roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of diverse species of plants exhibit mosquito
repellent properties. These extracts can be used as textile finishing agents in the crude form or as microcapsules or
emulsions to enhance the durability of the extracts. One of the recent trends in textile industry is nanotechnology which
can provide high durability for fabrics as they have a large surface area to volume ratio and high surface energy, thus
presenting better affinity for fabrics and leading to an increase in durability of the function. In addition, a coating of Nano
particles on fabrics will not affect their breathability or hand feel (Ratner, 2002).

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Bhatt. L & Kale. R. D

Fabrics with repellent activity have been previously achieved by polymer coating methods, (Faulder, 2006) by
encapsulation of DEET in chitosan microcapsules, (Fei, 2007) and by inclusion of DEET and permethrin in cyclodextrins
grafted to textile substrates, (Romi et. al., 2005). However, to the best of our knowledge, the repellent efficacy of nylon
fabrics with chrysanthemum oil nano emulsion finished by layer by layer technique (LBL) has not been investigated so far.
The aim of this work is to study the repellency and mortality effect of chrysanthemum oil treated nylon net fabrics
and to study its wash durability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Substrate
Nylon 66 net fabrics of 58 GSM with warp and weft count 57D/57 D and a mesh size of 0.6 mm was supplied by
Piyush Trading, Mumbai, India.
Chemicals
Lemongrass Oil was purchased from Shreeji Aroma, Mumbai, India and nitric acid and sodium hydroxide were
procured from SD Fine chemical, Mumbai, India. Sorbitanmonooleate (Span 80, chemically pure grade) as a lipophilic
surfactant, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitanmonolaurate (tween 20, chemically pure grade) as a hydrophilic surfactant used
for emulsion preparation were supplied by Mohini Organics Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India and cationic and anionic
polyacrylamide based polyelectrolyte ( RF 8220 and RF 8162) were provided by Rishabh Metals and Chemicals, Mumbai,
India.
Pre-Treatment of Nylon Fabric
Scouring of the nylon was carried out with 2gm/lit non-ionic detergent, Auxipon NP at boil for 45 min to remove
the oil and dirt. After scouring, fabric was washed with water and dried in air.
Preparation of Lemon Grass Oil Nano Emulsion
500 ml of nano emulsion was prepared by first dissolving 10.78 grams of Spam 80 and 9.22 grams of Tween 80 in
distilled water using magnetic stirrer for 60 minutes and kept overnight. Later 10 grams of lemon grass was added to this
surfactant mixture and emulsification was carried out using a high-speed homogenizer (Ultra-turrax T25 digital, IKA
Works Inc., China) at a constant stirring rate of 10000 rpm. The stirring time during emulsification was varied for 15 and
30 minutes.
Particle Size Analysis
Particle size of nano emulsions was determined by using a laser light scattering particle size analyzer (SALD 7500
nano, Shimadzu, Japan).

PEM Formation
Two polyelectrolyte solutions were prepared. The first solution containing 0.1 % RF 8220 (cationic
polyelectrolyte) was prepared, followed by addition of 1 M HNO3 to lower its pH to 7. Second solution containing 0.1 %
RF 8162(anionic polyelectrolyte) was prepared, by adjusting the pH to 5 using 1 M HNO3 (Alessio et. al., 2008). Different
concentrations of lemongrass oil emulsion were mixed in the anionic polyelectrolyte solution. PEM formation was carried
out by first dipping the nylon fabric in the cationic polyelectrolyte solution for two minutes followed by rinsing in distilled
Impact Factor (JCC): 3.3497

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Development of Mosquito Repellent Textiles

Using Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion

17

water for 2 minutes for removing the excess cationic polyelectrolyte particles. The fabric was then dipped into the mixture
of anionic polyelectrolyte and lemongrass oil nano emulsion contained in the same beaker for 2 minutes and after that
dipped into the distilled water for 2 minutes to remove loosely held anionic polyelectrolyte. The cycle is repeated till the
required number of PEM was obtained. Following the deposition of required number of PEM, fabric strips were dried in air
at room temperature and the dried samples were kept in an airtight Ziploc bag.
In this study, the numbers of PEM were varied to 10 and 20 layers. The concentration of nano emulsion of
lemongrass oil in the anionic polyelectrolyte was also varied from 50, 75 and 100 gpl.
Testing of Fabric Treated with Chrysanthemum Oil Nanoemulsion
The treated fabric was checked for effectivty against mosquitoes by mosquito mortality as well as mosquito
repellent test. SEM analysis of the fabric was also done to check the presence of finish in the treated and washed samples
against control sample.
Mosquito Repellency Test of Treated Fabrics
Mosquito repellency test was conducted as per WHO/CTD/WHO/PES/IC/96.1 method. Laboratory-reared
mosquitoes were released in an excito repellency chamber. An excito repellency chamber consists of two cubicle chamber
attached together with a hole in the central wall. Walls of right side of the chamber are covered with finished sample and
left side of the chamber walls are covered with unfinished fabrics. Mosquitoes are released to the right side of the chamber
to observe changes in behaviour in the form of moving away from treated fabric to untreated fabric through the hole in the
central wall. Observations are recorded after a period of 10 minutes and after 30 minutes. Mosquito Repellency was
calculated using following formula.

Mosquito Mortality Test of Treated Fabric

WHO cone test was used to check the mosquito mortality rate. Non-blood-fed susceptible mosquitoes aged 25
days were introduced into WHO cones for a period of 3 minutes. To minimize the chances of mosquitoes disturbing each
other during the short exposures on netting batch of 5 mosquitoes was introduced at a time. A total of 4 replicates of 5
mosquitoes was used for each sample tested, giving a total of 20 mosquitoes per sample. After exposure, mosquitoes were
placed in glass cylinders with sucrose solution in it for 24 hours at room temperature. Percentage knock-down after 60
minutes and percentage mortality after 24 hours were recorded. In addition, the natural mortality rate was determined with
an untreated net using another 20 test mosquitoes.

Wash Durability of Treated Fabric

Evaluation of the durability of finish was carried out using ISO 105-C06 standard test method. A solution
containing 4 gpl non-ionic soap was used as washing liquor. The nylon fabric samples of A4 size were washed at 40C for
30 minutes using material to liquor ratio of 1:50 in a laundrometer (Rossari Lab Tech Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India). The fabric
samples that showed acceptable mosquito repellency and mortality results were subjected to laundering of 5, 10, 15, 20,
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Bhatt. L & Kale. R. D

and 25 wash cycles.After rinsing and drying the samples were evaluated further for mosquito repellency and mortality
rates.
SEM Analysis of Treated and Washed Samples
The SEM micrographs of control, treated sample and treated sample after 25 washes were taken using Scanning
electron microscopy (JSM 5400, JEOL, USA) in order to determine the presence of finish on the nylon fabric.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Particle Size Analysis of Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion
Table 1 and Figure 1 shows the particle size of chrysanthemum oil nano emulsion prepared using high speed
homogeniser. With the increase in the stirring time the particle size reduces. A particle size of 42 nm was achieved at
stirring time 30 minutes as against 53 nm at 15 minutes stirring time. The decrease in particle size with the increase in
stirring time can be attributed to the fact that shear can cause the oil to break up into smaller droplets that are coated with
surfactant and are inhibited from coalescing due to the interfacial repulsion. A fraction of the shear energy applied during
stirring is stored in the greater surface area of the droplets. As the stirring time increases, shear applied on oil increases and
thus the particle size of nanoemulsion decreases.
Table 1: Particle Size Analysis of Lemongrass Oil Nano Emulsion
Stirring Time
(Minutes)
15 minutes
30 minutes

Particle Size of Nano

Emulsion (Nm)
53
42

Figure 1: Particle Size of Lemongrass Oil Nano Emulsions Prepared by High Speed Homogenization
Mosquito Repellency Test of Treated Fabric
Table 2 shows the mosquito repellency rate of fabrics treated with different concentration of chrysanthemum oil
nano emulsions with 10 and 20 layers. The treated fabrics were subjected to WHO excito repellency test. The fabrics
treated with 100gpl chrysanthemum oil nano emulsion with 10 and 20 layers gave 95% mosquito repellency rate.

Impact Factor (JCC): 3.3497

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

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Development of Mosquito Repellent Textiles

Using Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion

With the increase in oil nanoemulsion concentration and number of layers the repellency rate increased. This is
due to the fact that as the concentration and number of layers deposit more oil on the textile substrate through electrostatic
bond formation resulting in higher repellency rates.
Table 2: Mosquito Repellency Test Results of Samples Treated with Chrysanthemum Oil
Sample
(Concentration
and No. of
Layers)
Control
50gpl/10L
50gpl/20L
75gpl/10L
75gpl/20L
100gpl/10L
100gpl/20L

Number of Mosquitoes
Exposed to Treated
Region

Number of
Knockdown
Mosquitoes

20
20
20
20
20
20
20

0
0
0
1
1
3
4

Number of
Mosquitoes in
Untreated
Region
0
11
11
14
15
16
15

Repellency
Rate
(%)
0
55
55
75
80
95
95

Mosquito Mortality Test of Treated Fabric

Table 3 shows the mosquito mortality rate of fabrics treated with different concentration of chrysanthemum oil nano
emulsion.. The fabrics treated with 100gpl chrysanthemum oil nano emulsion with 10 and 20 layers showed highest
mortality rate as 85% and 90% respectively. The mortality rate also depicts similar trend as seen in case of mosquito
repellency, it increases with the increase in the concentration and number of layers.However it can seen that the mortality
rate is less as compared to the repellency rate for the samples treated with same concentration and number of layers.
Table 3: Mosquito Mortality Test Results of Samples Treated with Chrysanthemum Oil
Sample
(Concentration
and No. of
Layers)
Controlled
50gpl/10L
50gpl/20L
75gpl/10L
75gpl/20L
100gpl/10L
100gpl/20L

No of Knockdown Mosquitoes

No.of
Mosquitoes
Used

After 1 Hour

20
20
20
20
20
20
20

0
2
3
3
5
8
7

After 24
Hours
1
7
7
9
10
17
18

Mosquito Mortality Rate

(%)
After 1 Hour

After 24 Hours

0
10
15
15
25
40
35

5
35
35
45
50
85
90

Wash Durability of Treated Fabric

The treated samples that showed highest mosquito repellency and mortality rates were subjected to washing and
were further tested after 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wash cycles. Table 4 and Figure 2 show the wash durability of treated samples
for mosquito mortality. Table 5 and Figure 3 show the wash durability of treated samples for mosquito repellency. As the
number of layers increased, more oil is retained on the fabric because of the electrostatic bonds which results in increase in
wash durability. In a similar research where titanium dioxide nanoparticles were applied through layer by layer technique
also found that as the number PEM goes on increasing from one to 25 there is further improvement in the activity because
as number of layers are built up, there is a proportionate increase in the concentration of active ingredient onto the fabric.
(Kale, 2012)

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Bhatt. L & Kale. R. D

However it can be noticed that number of layers are more responsible towards the wash fastness rather
concentration of oil nanoemulsion as similar mosquito repellency rate of 95% can be seen in fabrics treated with 100 gpl
concentration with 10 and 20 layers, while there is a remarkable difference in the results after subsequent washing.
Table 4: Mosquito Mortality Rate of Washed Samples Treated
with 100 Gpl Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion
Sample
(Number of
Washes)
Unwashed
5
10
15
20
25
Unwashed
5
10
15
20
25

Number
of Layers

10

20

No of
Mosquitoes
Used
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20

No. of Knockdown
Mosquitoes
After 24
After 1 Hour
Hours
8
17
2
15
2
12
1
8
0
6
0
5
8
18
7
18
5
16
5
16
3
14
3
12

Mosquito Mortality Rate (%)

After 1
Hour
40
10
10
5
0
0
40
35
25
25
15
15

After 24 Hours
85
75
60
40
30
25
90
90
80
80
70
60

Figure 2: Mosquito Mortality Rate of Washed Samples Treated

with 100 gpl Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion

Table 5: Mosquito Repellency Rates of Washed Samples treated

With 100 gpl Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion
Sample
(Number of
Washes)
Unwashed
5
10
15
20
25

Number
of
Layers

10

Impact Factor (JCC): 3.3497

No. of Exposed
To Treated
Region
20
20
20
20
20
20

No. of
Knockdown
Mosquitoes
3
3
2
1
0
0

No. of Mosquitoes
in Untreated
Region
16
14
14
11
7
5

Repellency
Rate
(%)
95
90
80
60
35
25

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

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Development of Mosquito Repellent Textiles

Using Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion

Unwashed
5
10
15
20
25

20

20
20
20
20
20
20

Table 5: Contd.,
4
3
2
2
1
2

15
16
16
15
16
14

95
95
90
90
85
80

Figure 3: Mosquito Repellency Rate of Washed Samples

SEM Micrographs of Fabrics Treated with Chrysanthemum Oil Nano Emulsion
Figure 4 shows SEM micrographs of control sample and sample treated with 100gpl Chrysanthemum oil
nanoemulsion with 20 layers and same sample after 25 washes. The micrographs clearly depict the presence of nano
emulsion on the treated fabric and leaching out kind of effect can be noticed in the micrograph of treated sample after 25
wash.

Figure 4: SEM Micrographs of Samples Treated with Chrysanthemum Oil

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Bhatt. L & Kale. R. D

CONCLUSIONS
The present study proved that the particle size of essential oils nanoemulsion was affected by varying the
homogenizer stirring time. An increase in stirring time results in a decrease in the particle size of the nano emulsion
obtained. With the increase in oil nanoemulsion concentration and number of PEM, repellency rate increased. This is due
to the fact that as the concentration and number of layers increases more oil gets attached to the textile substrate through
electrostatic bond formation resulting in higher repellency rates. This also improved the wash durability of the treated
sample. Number of layers are more responsible towards the wash fastness rather concentration of oil nano emulsion.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology, India and TEQIP II for
providing funds for chemicals and testing.

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Kumaravel, S., Lakshmikantha, C.B. &Ponmurugan, P. (2009).Mosquito repellent fabric A comprehensive

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Gulrajani, M.L., Agarwal, A. &Lohia, C. (2007). Preparation of mosquito repellent fabrics, Asian Dyer, 8, 53-55.

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Anitha, R., Ramachandran, T., Rajendran, R. and Mahalakshmi M. (2011). Microencapsulation of lemon grass oil
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Fei, B, Xin, J.H.N. (2007). N-diethyl-m-toluamide-containing microcapsules for bio-cloth finishing. American
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Romi, R. Lo Nostro P, Bocci E, Ridi F, Baglioni P. (2005). Bioengineering of a cellulosic fabric for insecticide
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Alessio, B., Maximilian,Durr.,Pierandrea, L.N.(2008).Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles:

application to textiles as UV-absorbers. Journal of nanoparticle research, 10, 679-689.

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Kale, R. D. and Meena, C.R. (2012). Synthesis of Titanium dioxide Nanoparticles and Application on Nylon
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Impact Factor (JCC): 3.3497

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0