Eco-Friendly Encapsulation: Advancing Biopolymer Microcapsules for Sustainable Performance
Abstract
Based on environmental concerns, biopolymers are intriguing materials for encapsulating various substances utilizing an environmentally friendly method. Then, in this work, Eugenol (Eu), a significant aromatic compound in the extracts of various medicinal herbs, is used as a novel biobased monomer. An aqueous phase micro-suspension polymerization of eugenol methacrylate (EuMA), a monomer derived from Eu containing polymerizable functional groups, was carried out. EuMA was copolymerized with various methacrylate comonomers to produce polyeugenol-based microcapsules encapsulating a saltidin, a mosquito-repellent agent, as a core model. Using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a comonomer resulted in the highest conversion (100%) in the shortest polymerization time (2 hours), indicating the highest polymerization rate. The EuMA: EGDMA of 30: 70 and monomers: saltidin of 30: 70 %wt/wt provided high colloidal stable spherical microcapsules. High loading (66 wt%) and encapsulation (94%) of saltidin in microcapsules was obtained. The produced microcapsules were effective against Aedes aegypti for at least 7 hours. They were well coated and distributed on cotton fabric. They would be a novel microcapsule of biobased monomer derived from Eu, which allows for a wide range of applications.