Microencapsulation in the textile industry

Abstract

The application of microencapsulation techniques offers the possibility of producing novel products with many advantages compared to traditional textile products. The microcapsules can introduce important new qualities to garments and fabrics, such as enhanced stability and the controlled release of active compound(s). Although microencapsulation has found application in other business sectors during the last few decades (food, cosmetics Pharmaceuticals), a significant number of microcapsule-based commercial products appeared in the textile industry during the 1990s, while many potential new products are still in the research and development stage. The most attractive examples are fabrics with durable fragrances, T-shirts with UV-ray absorbing microcapsules, T-shirts with thermo-changeable dyes military uniforms with microencapsulated insecticide, thermo-regulation vehicle seats, ski suits, and gloves. In spite of important success in developing new products, there is a lot of space for further research especially in order to improve the mechanical strength of the obtained microcapsules and the kinetics and the mechanism of the release of active compound(s). Therefore, numerous research has focused on the development of new methods of applying of microcapsules on textile, new immobilization techniques and materials, are underway.

Primenom tehnika mikrokapsulacije otvara se mogućnost proizvodnje novih proizvoda sa mnoštvom prednosti u odnosu na tradicionalne proizvode tekstilne industrije. Primenom aktivnih supstanci u obliku mikrokapsula na odevne predmete dobijaju se potpuno nove osobine, poput kontrolisanog otpuštanja aktivne supstance i njene povešane stabilnosti, lako je mikrokapsulacija u toku prethodnih nekoliko decenija našla primenu u drugim privrednim granama (prehrambena, kozmetička i farmaceutska industrija) komercijalni tekstilni proizvodi koji sadrže mikrokapsule počeli su da se pojavljuju tek tokom 90-tih godina prošlog veka, a mnoštvo novih potencijalnih proizvoda je u fazi istraživanja i razvoja. Najatraktivniji primeri su: majice sa inkapsuliranim mirisnim supstancama, majice koje menjaju boju pri promeni temperature, majice koje apsorbuju UV zračenje vojne uniforme sa inkapsuliranim insekticidima, automobilska sedišta i skijaška odela sa regulacijom temperature. lako je razvijeno mnogo novih proizvoda, postoji potreba za daljim istraživanjem naročito u cilju poboljšanja mehaničkih osobina mikrokapsula i boljeg kontrolisanja kinetike otpuštanja aktivne supstance.