lemon peel oil (oil), its nanoemulsion as well as encapsulated with nano clay were prepared and applied in the treatment of wool and viscose fabrics to enhance their resistance to microbes. Gas mass spectrometry (GC/MS) oil was used to identify volatile bioactive compounds. The qualitative and quantitative phenolic compounds were determined using HPLC. Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for the determination of the size, shape, and size distribution of nanoparticles of oil and nano clay respectively. The morphological changes of the treated fabrics were characterized by using (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The changes in its antimicrobial activity have been studied.
Results of this study showed that the volatile compounds by GC-MS analysis for oil represent (98.3%) is of cyclic monoterpene. The size of the prepared nanoencapsulation oil was about 28 nm. The antimicrobial results proved significant improvements against Staphylococcus aureus (G+) of the fabrics treated with oil (Citrus aurantifolia) and its derivatives compared to the untreated ones.