CAIRO: Bzzzzz… Zzzzzzz… It is the most irritating sound produced by one of the most annoying pests: mosquitoes. Many kinds of repellent products have been invented and produced to help us get rid of those irksome little creatures; from sprays, foggers to zappers. Now, the latest invention to join the bandwagon is an insect-repellent clothing.
A scientific team at the National Research Center (NRC) in Egypt, in collaboration with the Entomology and Pharmaceutical Industries departments, and Textile Industries Division, has succeeded in manufacturing insect repellent and anti-microbial fabrics. Ali Sayed Ali, a professor in Textile Industries at the Egyptian NRC, said the manufacturing process of insect-repellent clothing is made by preparing an active substance that repels insects like mosquitoes, flies, ants, bugs, fleas and cockroaches from a natural plant extract.
To protect the active ingredients from decomposition because of exposure to light, heat, humidity, or any external factors, the natural mixture is encapsulated.
Ali said that such textiles are used to make garments for soldiers, employees of relief bodies, or people whose works require their presence or proximity to forests. He pointed out that the NCR in Egypt has obtained a patent for this technology.
Egyptian scientists develop insect-repellent clothing
