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Essential oils (EOs) obtained from the Citrus genus were reported to exhibit good antimicrobial activity. Therefore, they can potentially be applied in daily necessities such as textile sectors as antibacterial functional fabric products. However, a packaging technique to retain such volatile and labile active substances is compulsory. In particular, microencapsulation was found to be a common coating technique employed to protect EOs from the effects of light, heat, humidity, stability, and controlled release of active substances. Various microencapsulation techniques have been introduced, but the most widely used method is complex coacervation, as it is simple, inexpensive, and capable of snaring high essential oils. Hence, this review focused on the microencapsulation of the most consumable citrus EOs with complex coacervation methods and their immobilization on commonly carried-out fabrics. In addition, it also discusses the isolation methods of the EOs, their chemical composition, and the mechanism of antibacterial action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibacterial microcapsules of Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle essential oil (LOs) covered by ethyl cellulose biopolymer were prepared and applied to cotton fabric. The microencapsulation of the LOs was accomplished through a simple coacervation process, whereas the immobilization onto the cotton fabric was based on the pad dry method with citric acid as a binder. Optimization of the type and weight of the emulsifier was considered to result in the best properties of the microcapsules. Employing 1 g of tween-80, the best LO microcapsules were successfully obtained up to 46.7 ± 3.8% yield, with spherical morphology and a well-distributed size range of 0.5–2 μm. The oil content (OC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of the microcapsules were achieved at 95.4 ± 0.8% and 77.9 ± 6.6% correspondingly. According to Avrami's kinetic model, the release performance of the LOs microcapsules in 2 h was ruled by the first-order kinetic mechanism with the remaining LOs of 37.7%. The LO microcapsules were successfully immobilized onto cotton fabric with a % add-on of 20.1%. Upon a standard washing test, the attached LOs microcapsules demonstrated 5 cycles of resistance against normal washing, with a mass reduction of the microcapsules up to 52.2%. Further antibacterial assays showed that the cotton fabrics immobilized by the LOs microcapsules exhibited a high inhibition, especially towards Gram-negative bacteria E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Thus, it can be potentially developed for antibacterial functional textile. [Display omitted] • The oil content (OC) of the microcapsules was higher than ever. • The morphology of the microcapsules obtained was more spherical in shape. • The storage stability of the microcapsules at room temperature was more remarkable than others. • The microcapsules also exhibited better antibacterial activity when applied to the fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]