Microencapsulation of active substances and fragrances in textile material applications

Microencapsulation of substances applied on textiles is a relatively new method with many advantages applied in many different fi elds. There are many effective approaches to microencapsulation for decreasing release of fragrances and active substances such as essential oils and cosmetic ingredients using cyclodextrins, yeast cells, chitosans, melamine-formaldehyde or poly(L-lactide) as wall materials. Some of the methods for encapsulating are: complex coacervation, phase separation, interfacial polymerization and in situ polymerization, spray drying, spray congealing and pan coating. Market products for textiles with microcapsules include cosmetotextiles, aromatherapy textiles, home textiles, sports wears and apparel and microcapsules can be applied to these textiles by padding, coating, spraying or immersion exhaustion techniques. In practice the aim is to produce textiles with microcapsules which would last for as much wash and dry cycles as possible.