Sulfonated cellulose nanocrystals (S-CNCs) can be used to encapsulate thyme white essential oil (EO) that is volatile and immiscible with water. S-CNCs form a Pickering emulsion (PE) with EOs. EOs are secondary metabolic compounds of aromatic plants that have antioxidant, antimicrobial, and larvicidal activity. EOs extracted by steam distillation are composed of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, aromatic phenols, lactones, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes. It is considered that EOs do not evolve harmful side effects because, in general, their components are highly volatile and have short residence times in natural environments such as clear water and soil. However, their volatility also means that EOs need to be released in a controlled, steady manner to have the desired larvicidal effect without being wasted by evaporation. PEs are an associated colloidal system that stabilizes a two-phase liquid mixture through adsorption of amphiphilic particles at the interface of the two liquids. The sulfonated CNCs (S-CNCs) closely packed at the surface of an oil prevent evaporation of volatile oils and enable the sustained release of the oil through pores at the nanoscale. In addition, the enhanced solubility of EO-PEs in water improves the larvicidal performance.

Cellulose nanomaterials for mole dynamics study

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.