Development of a Cotton Smart Textile with Medicinal Properties Using Lime Oil Microcapsules

The present study focused on using microencapsulation technique to develop an antioxidant and antibacterial active smart cotton fabric using encapsulated lime oil (LO). LO microcapsules were prepared via the complex coacervation method using chitosan and gum arabic wall materials. UV-Visible and FTIR spectrometry verified the successful encapsulation of LO. The synthesized LO microcapsules were irregular in shape and differed in size between 15-160 μm according to the optical and SEM images. The loading of the microcapsules was found to be 2943 ± 128 μL/g with a loading efficiency of 82 ± 4%. The antioxidant activity of the LO microcapsules was 1336 ± 17 μg PGE/g (Folin-Ciocalteu assay). Brine shrimp lethality assay indicated that the cytotoxicity of LO was minimized upon microencapsulation. Succinic acid was used as the binder to incorporate the LO microcapsules on to the cotton fabric. The SEM images confirmed the steady attachment of LO microcapsules to the cotton fibres. The cotton fabric containing LO microcapsules displayed significant antibacterial activity against four bacterial species prior to and after subjecting the fabric to wash conditions.