Citronella oil‐loaded electrospun micro/nanofibrous matrices as sustained repellency systems for the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus

Abstract

BACKGROUND Mosquitoes are hematophagous insects of major public health concern, serving as vectors of many diseases. Available products for personal protection against mosquitoes lack adequate efficacy and in most cases need to be reapplied or replaced frequently. In the last years, the encapsulation of the active repellents in various matrices has arisen as an alternative method for the development of new generation repellent systems. The aim of the present study was to explore the potential of functional micro/nanofibrous matrices as systems for the sustained release of the highly volatile insect repellent citronella oil. RESULTS Micro/nanofibrous single‐ and triple‐layer systems incorporating citronella oil as the active agent were developed via the electrospinning technique using the low‐cost, non‐toxic, biodegradable polymers cellulose acetate and polyvinylpyrrolidone. All produced micro/nanofiber systems exhibited prolonged release of citronella oil and a high repellent activity in laboratory bioassays against the mosquito Aedes albopictus for at least four weeks. CONCLUSION Considering the high volatility of the embedded repellent, the present study demonstrates the strong potential of the micro/nanofibrous matrices to act as carriers of highly volatile repellents for an effective and sustained protection from mosquitoes.