Mosquito repellent finishes on textile fabrics (woven & knit) by using different medicinal natural plants

Abstract

In textile, Finishing is one of the significant processes which augment the performance of the fabric and functional properties as well. Health is always thought to be an indispensable requirement for human beings to live without any stress and it aids to give the best output of any work. Hygiene is also one of the important elements to live comfortably. A mosquito repellent textile protects the human beings from the bite of mosquitoes and ensures safety from the diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Medicinal plants like neem (Azadirachta indica), tulashi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) & mint-leaf (Mentha) etc. are used for induction of organic mosquito repellent activity and all of them are ecofriendly. This project is an exiguous endeavor in developing an eco-friendly mosquito repellent finished fabric using the herbal extract from neem, tulshi and mint-leaf .The extracted chemicals are finished on to the fabric by pad-dry-cure process & exhaust process and are evaluated using a mosquito repellency activity test .Then the repellency behavior of fabrics were checked after washing at three intervals – 5th,7th & 9th washes .Finally, the finished fabrics showed a great amount of mosquito repellent activity for both knit and woven fabric which was calculated in percentage.