Electrospun ethylcellulose-based mats with insect-repellent activity

V. MUÑOZ; F. BUFFA; F. MOLINARI; L.G. HERMIDA; J.J. GARCÍA; G.A. ABRAHAM

MATERIALS LETTERS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 253 p. 289 - 292

0167-577X

Mosquito repellent textiles are increasingly in demand from consumers as protective textiles against mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, yellow fever or dengue. In this work, the production and behaviour of 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 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the main insect vector of dengue virus. The effect of electrospinning solvent and CD 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 assessed using standard methods. The use of biopolymer-based core-enriched nanofibrous mats resulted a very promising strategy for the development of functional nanofibrous textiles containing a natural repellentcargo, such as disposable outdoor goods.