Microencapsulation of herbal extracts for microbial resistance in healthcare textiles

Abstract

Antimicrobial finish has been imparted to the cotton fabric using extracts of neem and Mexican daisy by direct application and by microencapsulation using pad-dry-cure method. To enhance the durability of antimicrobial finish to number of washes, the microencapsulation of herbal extracts has been done using phase separation / coacervation. Microcapsules are produced using herbal extracts as core and acacia as wall material. Structure of microcapsules has been evaluated using light microscopy with image analysis technique, the presence of microcapsules by scanning electron microscopy, the antimicrobial efficacy by quantitative method in terms of bacterial reduction, and the wash durability of antimicrobial activity by AATCC 124. It is observed that the microencapsulated herbal extracts possess a very good resistance for microbes even after 15 washes.