Abstract:
The textile industry comprises technologies that transform synthetic or
natural fibers into yarn, cloth, and felt for manufacturing clothing, upholstery,
and household linens. The major public health threat in tropical and
subtropical countries is mosquito-borne malaria. Nowadays, the demand for
insect repellent-based textiles is continuously rising, as they are used for
protection against diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. The present work
reviews studies on the fabrication of insect repellent containing electrospun
polymeric nanofibers as principal tools for protecting people against mosquito
bites. Electrospinning technology is a remarkably facile technique for
fabricating polymeric nanofiber devices. The technique is outlined and
elucidated. The performance of insect repellent-based polymeric nanofibers
against mosquitoes is carefully reported and comprehensively reviewed
in-depth. Furthermore, the progress made on the mathematical modeling of
the release rate of repellents through polymeric nanofiber devices is reviewed.
The reviewed studies demonstrate that repellents can be released slowly from
electrospun nanofibers, increasing the product’s protection period against
insects. The reviewed works suggest that electrospinning technology has led
to an effective and facile methodology for fabricating functional nanofiber
textiles with insect repellent. The reviewed studies showed that product-based
repellents can be effective not only against malaria but also against other
mosquito-borne diseases.
