ABSTRACT
Today, more than ever, mosquito-borne diseases have a major influence on the quality of life and socio-economic development of a large part of the human population. Malaria is one such diseases. Responsible for reaching almost half of the world’s population in about 100 countries, its occurrence has a tremendous impact on the human health of 214 million people, being the cause of the death of more than 438 000 people, and, also, to significant economic losses. Recent increases in drug resistance (drugs and repellents) and climate change, have led this disease to spread into new geographical areas, especially in Europe’s outskirts. Aware of this situation, the authors sought to develop a new biodegradable and antimalarial technological solution, through the functionalization of PLA filaments. It is expected that this new proposal may contribute to the diminishing of the impact of malaria on human health. This research work, bearing this purpose in mind, aims at the development of a new piece of cloth made with an entirely new family of PLA fibres, specifically designed. Those fibres were embedded with internally developed microcapsules containing a natural repellent agent – Schinus molle – added during the extrusion process. Three knit structures, based on this new fibre, were produced, and the repellent efficiency and washing resistance were assessed.
