Potential growth of microbes during the use and storage of textiles negatively affects the durability while simultaneously resulting in infections. In this study, surface characteristics of the textiles have been systematically modified to enhance the attachment of micro/nano-capsules containing active agents to repel insects or ticks or prevent the growth of microbes.<br/>The attachment of capsules to textile surfaces depends on the fabric composition and surface finish. For systematic selection of textile for functionalization through capsules attachment, surface properties of %100 cotton, %100 polyester, %100 viscose and %100 tencel textiles were studied. Cotton and polyester and their blends were chosen for further study due to their wide availability, use in sports outfits and higher contact angles to help stain resistance. For the determination of most suited blend, a design of experiment (DoE) was conducted. The DoE revealed 13 tests to be performed for the design of optimum surface properties to enable maximum micro/nano-capsule adherence to the textile samples. The optimization of the responses in DoE being focused on higher hydrophobicity and less negative surface charge resulted in highest desirability for 100% cotton fabric treated with higher silicon content in the finishing solution to maximize the capsules attachment. The selected textile was treated, sprayed on the cotton side with the prepared nano-micro capsules loaded with eucalyptus oil as an example of tick repellant textiles. Two novel capsule formulations were studied including (i) the biodegradable PEG-PCL co-polymer micelles and (ii) porous silica coated with polymeric shell after impregnation of the eucalyptus oil. While the capsule attachment correlated to the hydrophobic and electrostatic nature of the capsules and the textile surface, the type of capsules affected the controlled release of the active ingredient to make the textile surface functional.

Optimization of micro/nanocapsules attachment by tailoring the surface nature of textiles

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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