Facile fabrication of durable acaricidal nanofibers effective against Dermatophagoides farinae via emulsion electrospinning of eugenol-encapsulated cellulose acetate

Abstract

Eugenol, a natural essential oil that has acaricidal effect on Dermatophagoides farinae dust mite, was encapsulated in a gelatin capsule by the coacervation method. The eugenol oil-loaded gelatin capsule (EOGC) was in spherical shape with an average diameter of ~ 1.46 µm, and the loading efficiency of eugenol in EOGC was 45%. The gelatin shell (~ 25 vol% of entire EOGC) of EOGC was cross-linked by the Schiff’s base reaction, so that EOGC can endure the later electrospinning process. The EOGC-embedded nanofibers were produced by electrospinning the cellulose acetate (CA) solution containing EOGC emulsions. The electrospun fibers contained firmly embedded-EOGC emulsions (EOGCs-CA), where the emulsions remained unbroken through the processes. EOGC has the bioactive compounds of monoterpene alcohol and 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol of eugenol oil, and the EOGC-embedded CA nanofibers demonstrated the acaricidal effect in reducing the number of D. farinae, showing up to 97% mortality in 24 h. The emulsion-based method was suggested as a facile and effective way of fabricating acaricidal textiles. Eugenol is a promising natural alternative to synthetic acaricidal agents in finishing acaricidal textiles.