ABSTRACT
Currently,
Insect-repellents are most widely used in India for protection against insects
and other parasites. Owing to the various diseases caused by insects (e.g. Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya, Typhoid,
etc.), the demand for insect-repellents in cream, liquid and spray form is
increasing every year. However, none of the currently available products (i.e.
insect-repellent lotion, cream, spray and coil) are friendly for frequent
travelers as it doesn’t provide any guidance regarding quantity to be applied
for maximum insect-repellency. Additionally, the packing is not optimized and
suitable for travel and tourism industry.
This project aims to develop a
cost-effective disposable insect-repellent wipe for the Indian travel and
tourism market. The wipe has also been optimized as per different age groups
and body parts. The spunlace nonwoven materials are being used for the initial
feasibility study. The proposed formulations are being optimized so that each
wipe provides maximum insect-repellency and sufficient time to the user before
it dries up. An innovative way of incorporating insect-repellents to the
nonwoven substrate has been studied in order to provide a longer ‘insect-free time’
to the user. The feasibility study also incorporates application of dry
insect-repellent formulations which can be triggered by impregnating in water
while applying on skin. This will reduce the cost of transportation and
increase the shelf-life of our newly developed wipes. Additionally, a herbal
insect-repellent, neem, has also been tested which can be used by persons having
sensitive skin
Keywords: Wipe,
Aroma, Insect repellent, Insect Free time, Super Absorbent Polymer, Spunbonded
nonwoven, Spunlace nonwoven, Chicken blood and Mosquito net.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Currently,
Insect-repellents are most widely used in India for protection against insects
and other parasites. Owing to the various diseases caused by insects (e.g. Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya, Typhoid,
etc.), the demand for insect-repellents in cream, liquid and spray form is
increasing every year. However, none of the currently available products (i.e.
insect-repellent lotion, cream, spray and coil) are friendly for frequent
travelers as it doesn’t provide any guidance regarding quantity to be applied
for maximum insect-repellency. Additionally, the packing is not optimized and
suitable for travel and tourism industry.
Insect-repellent
wipe is a fibrous structure impregnated with Insect-repellent formulation. These
wipes helps in driving the insects away thus protecting you from bite. The wipe
has this kind of aroma which keeps insects away but that can not affect your
nose. There are insect repellents available in the market and mostly it comes
in spray, however spraying it on your room could give you a very itchy nose. It is known that the human blood is very delicious for
insects therefore these repellents work by covering the blood fragrant with its
own fragrance. The aroma from those repellents are scattered therefore the
insects will not think that you are in the place or in the room, therefore it
is really effective.
Fig.
1 Insect-Repellent Wipe
However there are some repellents that irritate not only the
insects but also the person using it. For those users that have very sensitive
skin they feel like their skin is burning when they applied the repellent in
lotion form. Therefore, it is best to choose those repellents that are made of
natural ingredients so that the sensitive skin won’t get irritated. There are
also users that have very sensitive nose so they have to choose those
repellents that have an aroma that is not that strong yet effective. This wipe
provide the maximum insect repellency with a optimized quantity of Insect
repellent formulation with easy to use, Additionally a Eco Friendly wipe is
being also developed using neem and tulsi which provide the insect-repellency
and which can be used by person having skin problems. The probability of insect
biting is more near the wounded parts of the human body and generally the
commonly used insect repellent chemicals are not suitable to apply over the
wounded parts but this eco friendly wipes which uses neem can be applied even
on the wounded parts of the body these products not only provide
insect-repellency but will also helps in healing the wounds. So, these products
can be really use full. Apart from this the wipes are very easy to apply and
the formulation can be applied evenly/uniformly over the exposed body parts.
The
Table: 1 enlists the advantages and disadvantages of currently available Insect-repellent
products.
Table: 1 Comparison of
Currently available Insect-repellent Products
|
Products available
|
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
|
Cream and Lotion (Odomoss, Goodnight)
|
Easy to apply
|
Quantity as per age group, weather conditions, body
parts not known. ‘Insect-free’ time not established. May cause skin
irritation.
|
|
Spray (Hit)
|
Effective in closed environment
|
Not suitable during travelling.
|
|
Coils(Mortein, Maxo) and Liquids (All out, Mortein)
|
Effective in closed environment
|
Not suitable during travelling.
|
So, from the above table it is clear
that the currently available products are not suitable during travelling and it
leads us to develop a completely new and innovative product “Insect-Repellent
Wipe” for Indian Travel and Tourism Industry.
2. TYPES OF INSECT-REPELLNT WIPE
The
Insect-repellent wipes can be made into two types:
2.1
Wet Wipe These
types of wipes can be defined as a fibrous structure wetted with aqueous
solution of insect repellent formulation which helps in repelling the insects.
2.2
Dry Wipe These
type of wipes can be defined as a fibrous structure with dry insect-repellent
formulation which can be triggered by impregnation with water or other solvent
prior to application on skin and thus when applied providing the insect
repellency.
The
Table: 2 gives the idea of suitability between Wet and Dry wipe for use.
Table: 2 Comparisons
between Wet and Dry Wipe
|
Parameters
|
Wet Wipe
|
Dry Wipe
|
|
Application on skin
|
Ready to use
|
Require Water or solvent
|
|
Transportation cost
|
More
|
Less
|
|
Shelf life
|
Less
|
More
|
So,
from the above table it can be seen that Dry wipe is superior to Wet wipe in
terms of Shelf Life and Transportation cost (as it weigh less) but it will require
Water or solvent in order to apply it over the Skin.
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS:
3.1
Material The
Different Materials used for the Development of Insect-repellent wipe are:
Ø A
Fibrous Structure of Spunlace and Spunbond nonwoven for wipe.
o
Spunbonded Nonwoven 60 GSM (100% polypropylene)
o
Spunbonded Nonwoven 65 GSM
(polyester-67% and Viscose-33%)
o
Spunlace Nonwoven 45 GSM (polyester-50%
and Viscose-50%)
o
Spunlace Nonwoven 45 GSM (polyester-70%
and Viscose-30%)
Ø DEET
(N, N-diethyl benzamide-12%), Neem oil and powder extract as insect-repellents.
Ø Super-absorbent (SAP) polymers/fibres.
Ø Chicken blood sample to evaluate repellency.
3.2
Preparation Method
The Five different types of
Insect-repellent wipe has been developed namely
Ø Wipe A
Ø Wipe B
Ø Wipe C
Ø Wipe D and
Ø Wipe E
3.2.1
Wipe A
The
Wipe A is Prepared using a Spunbonded nonwoven 60 GSM (100% polypropylene). The
nonwoven fabric is impregnated in Insect-repellent formulation DEET (N, N-diethyl
benzamide-12%)/ Neem oil for about 8 hours at 27 ºC.
3.2.2
Wipe B The
Wipe B is Prepared using a Spunbonded nonwoven 65 GSM (polyester-67% and
Viscose-33%). The nonwoven fabric is impregnated in Insect-repellent
formulation DEET (N, N-diethyl benzamide-12%)/ Neem oil for about 8 hours at 27 ºC.
3.2.3
Wipe C
The
Wipe C is Double Layered wipe in which the Top layer is like Insect-Repellent
wipe A which is impregnated in Insect-repellent formulation DEET (N,N-diethyl
benzamide-12%)/ Neem oil for about 8 hours at 27 ºC. and SAP(Super absorbent Polymer is
sprinkled between the two layers as shown in Fig. 2 to increase the moisture
holding capacity thus Increasing the Drying time of wipe and giving the more
time to user for applying the wipe over his/her exposed body parts. The SAP if
inhaled can cause some serious problems in breathing as it swells when comes in
contact with moisture. So, later on the Super Absorbent Polymer is replaced by
Super Absorbent Fiber. Fig. 2
Sprinkling of SAP over Bottom layer 
The Wipe C (Fig. 3) has
Insect-repellent formulation only on one side and other side of the wipe is dry
so it becomes easy for user to apply without getting unnecessary amount of
Insect-repellent formulation over his/her hands. The two layers of nonwoven
fabric can be fusion bonded which is more easy by using fibers having low
melting temperature e.g. polypropylene and polyolefin.
Fig.
3 SAP is sandwiched between two layers
3.2.4 Wipe D This wipe falls into category of
Dry Wipe, the wipes discussed above are wet wipes. This wipe is also Double
Layered. In preparation of Wipe D the dry powder of Insect-repellent is
sprinkled between two layers of nonwoven fabric as shown in Fig. 4 which can be
triggered by impregnating in water prior to applying on skin. Initial trials
have shown that this concept can reduce the cost of transportation and increase
the shelf-life of our newly developed wipes. The two layers of nonwoven fabric
can be fusion bonded which is more easy by using fibers having low melting
temperature e.g. polypropylene and polyolefin.
Fig. 4 Dry Insect Repellent between two
nonwoven layers
3.2.5
Wipe E
This
wipe is multilayered wipe having three layers of nonwoven fabric namely bottom,
centre and top layer. (65 gsm/45 gsm/45 gsm) as shown in Fig. 5.
The SAP is
sprinkled between bottom and centre layer whereas dry insect-repellent formulation
is applied between centre and top layer. Thus the Sprinkled SAP helps in providing
more Drying time to for Dry Wipe thus giving more time to user for applying it
over the exposed body parts. The Wipe E has Insect-repellent formulation only
on one side and other side of the wipe is dry so it becomes easy for user to
apply without getting unnecessary amount of Insect-repellent formulation over
his/her hands.
Fig.
5 Three layered wipe with Dry Insect-repellent formulation and SAP
The
two layers of nonwoven fabric can be fusion bonded which is more easy by using
fibers having low melting temperature e.g. polypropylene and polyolefin.
3.6
Testing Method
The
Wipes are being tested for Insect repellency with the help of Chicken Blood
which attracts the insects. The experiments were conducted in a closed mosquito
net by trapping insects inside. The nonwoven fabric is treated
with Chicken blood which will attracts the insects and over that the wipes are
kept in a closed mosquito net with trapped insects for checking the insect
repellency. After few hours the same wipe is again tested for insect repellency
so that its protection time can be determined. The whole assembly for testing
the insect repellency is shown in the Fig. 6. Fig. 6 Testing assembly for checking the
Insect Repellency
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Drying
time
When
a wipe is opened up to use after some time the wipe get dried as all the
moisture get evaporated the time taken
by the wipes to get dry depends upon the weather and wind condition. So user
get a limited time for applying the wipe over his/her exposed body parts. So a
study has been done on the drying time provided by different wipes. The Drying
time of different wipes are shown in Fig: 7.
Fig:
7 Comparison of Drying Time for Different Wipes
This
shows that wipes with SAP take longer to dry providing sufficient time for the
application of repellents.
4.2 Insect Repellency The wipes has been tested for the insect repellency
(It’s ability to repel insects) for this first a testing assembly as shown in
Fig. 6 is prepared and then a insect is trapped inside a closed mosquito net
with a chicken blood sample inside which will attract the insect to come over
it but our newly developed insect repellent wipe is kept over it which will
drive the insects away as shown in Fig. 8.
As shown in Fig. 8 there is no insects coming over the Blood
Sample as it is covered by the Insect Repellent wipe but after few hours the
effect of wipe is getting demolished as tested under the same condition the
Fig. 9 is result after 6 hours at which insects are coming over the Blood Sample.
Fig. 8 Insect
repellent wipe over Blood Sample(DEET)
Fig. 9 Insect Repellent Wipe Over Blood Sample after 6 hours
(DEET)
Fig. 10 Insects coming
onto the Blood Sample
To check wheather the Blood sample will attract the insects
or not the same experiment is done withouut the Insect repellent wipe. The Fig.
10 shows the complete attraction of insects over the Blood sample as the Insect
repellent wipe is removed from the top of the Blood sample so insect starts coing
over it.
4.3 Optimization
study for various age groups
A
study is currently being carried out to optimize the amount of formulation
required for different age groups to get the maximum repellency. The Fig: 11 shows
the amount of insect-repellents required in grams:
Fig. 11
Optimization of Insect Repellent according to Body Parts and Age Group
5. CONCLUSIONS
•
Insect-repellent
wipes can be developed for Indian travel and tourism industry.
•
Multilayered
dry wipes are superior option than that of single layer wet wipes for
insect-repellency.
•
SAP
can be used to increase the drying time.
•
Insect-repellent
formulations can be optimized as per different age groups.
•
Natural
products such as Neem extracts can be used to develop insect-repellent
wipes.
6. REFERENCES
1)
Information on www.allbusiness.com/sector-44-45-retail.../1187809-1.html
2)
Information on http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Dengue-risk-at-Games-venues-angers-HC/articleshow/6477411.cms#ixzz12GgXUdm6
3)
Information on http://www.myinsectrepellent.com/ar/3m-insect-repellent.php
4)
Information on http://www.myinsectrepellent.com/ar/insect-repellent-clothing.php
5)
Information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_repellent
6)
Information on http://www.malariasite.com/malaria/MalariaInIndia.htm
8)
Wet Wipes, Ho-ward J. Yoh, W. Berlin,
N.J, United States Patent 4904524 Feb. 27 1990.
9)
Insect Repellents, Richard Arthur Birch,
Hyth (G.B), Henk Helweg, Huizen (N.L) United States Patent US 7455852B2,
November 25 2008.
10) Process
and System for Impregnated Garment with Insect Repellent, Bartley F. Mcnally,
North Providence R.I. United States Patent 5884418, March 23, 1999.
11) System
for Impregnating Garment with Insect Repellent, Bartley F. Mcnally, North
Providence R.I. United States Patent 5930909, Aug 3, 1999.
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