CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Mosquito repellent textiles are increasingly in demand from consumers as protective textiles againstmosquito-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever or dengue. In this work, the production and behaviourof repellent-containing electrospun ethylcellulose nanofibrous mats for the control of disease vectors ispresented. Citriodiol (CD), a naturally and sustainably sourced biorepellent, was used as against Aedesaegypti mosquitoes, the main insect vector of dengue virus. The effect of electrospinning solvent andCD content and distribution on the morphology of monolithic and core-enriched nanofibers was examined. The effectiveness of these novel CD-loaded nanofibrous mats to repel mosquitoes was assessedusing standard methods. The use of biopolymer-based core-enriched nanofibrous mats resulted a verypromising strategy for the development of functional nanofibrous textiles containing a natural repellentcargo, such as disposable outdoor goods.