Microencapsulated Repellent Spray for Textiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing repellent compositions for textile materials against insect vectors of tropical diseases, such as mosquitoes, have short-lasting effects and limited efficacy, failing to provide long-term protection against species like Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles mosquitoes.
Innovation Solution
A microencapsulated repellent composition in spray form containing lavandin essential oil and p-menthane-3,8-diol, with a membrane-coated core that releases active ingredients upon mechanical stress, providing prolonged protection by adhering to textile materials and resisting external influences like light and bacteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If conventional repellent compositions are sprayed on textile materials, then the textile materials gain repellent properties, but the effect lasts only 4 to 8 hours
Solution Approach 1:
The repellent composition is segmented into multiple microcapsules, each containing active ingredients. This segmentation allows the active ingredients to be released progressively as microcapsules rupture during wear, extending the duration of protection from 4-8 hours to potentially weeks or months while maintaining reliable repellent efficacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The active repellent ingredients are pre-encapsulated in microcapsules before application to the textile material. This preliminary encapsulation protects the active ingredients and enables controlled release over time, ensuring sustained repellent effect without requiring frequent reapplication.
2Ease of operation
If repellent active ingredients are solubilized in a spray solution, then the composition can be easily applied, but the repellent effect is short-lived
Solution Approach 1:
The active repellent ingredients are enclosed in flexible microcapsule shells that can be easily applied to textile materials like sprays. These thin film capsules remain intact during application but rupture during subsequent wear, providing both ease of operation and extended duration of protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the active ingredients is changed from solubilized liquid to encapsulated solid or semi-solid form. This parameter change allows the composition to be applied easily as a spray while the encapsulated form ensures prolonged release and extended protection duration.
3Reliability
If more active ingredients are used to improve repellent properties, then efficacy increases, but the composition becomes less stable against external influences
Solution Approach 1:
The microcapsule wall acts as an intermediary barrier between the active repellent ingredients and external environmental factors such as light, oxygen, and bacteria. This protective shell maintains the stability of the composition while allowing the active ingredients to remain effective for extended periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The microcapsule interior creates a protected, relatively inert environment for the active ingredients, isolating them from harmful external influences like UV light and bacterial degradation. This inert environment preserves the stability and efficacy of the repellent composition over time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition offers lasting repellent effects against mosquitoes for several years, maintaining effectiveness even after storage, with significant reduction in mosquito bites on treated textile surfaces during testing, demonstrating enhanced durability and efficacy compared to conventional repellents.
Implementation Method 1
The microencapsulation of the aforementioned repellent active ingredients offers the advantage of protecting them within the membrane and releasing them only when the membrane bursts.
Implementation Method 2
at least one binding agent
Implementation Method 3
at least one wetting agent
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a composition for repelling insects that are vectors for a tropical disease in spray form, characterised in that it also comprises: microcapsules comprising a core coated with a membrane, said core containing repellent active principles which comprise essential oil of lavandin and p-menthane-3,8-diol; a binding agent; a wetting agent; and water. The invention also relates to a repellent treatment method during which said repellent composition is sprayed onto a portion of a textile material.