The incorporation of lemongrass oil into chitosan-nanocellulose composite for bioaerosol reduction in indoor air

The bioaerosols present in indoor air play a major role in the transmission of infectious diseases to humans, therefore concern about their exposure is increased recently. In this regard, the present investigation described the preparation of lemongrass essential oil (LGEO) loaded chitosan and cellulose nanofibers composites (CH/CNF) for controlling the indoor air bioaerosol. The evaluation of the inhibitory effect of the composite system on culturable bacteria of the indoor air was done at different sites (air volume from 30 m³ to 80 m³) and in different size fractions of aerosol (<0.25 μm–2.5 μm). The composite system had high encapsulation efficiency (88–91%) and citrals content. A significant reduction in culturable bacteria of aerosol (from 6.23 log CFUm⁻³ to 2.33 log CFUm⁻³) was observed in presence of cellulose nanofibers and chitosan composites. The bacterial strains such as Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus cereus, Bacillus pseudomycoides sp., Pseudomonas otitidis, and Pseudomonas sp. Cf0-3 in bioaerosols were inhibited dominantly due to the diffusion of aroma molecules in indoor air. The results indicate that the interaction of diffused aroma molecule from the composite system with bacterial strains enhanced the production of ROS, resulting in loss of membrane integrity of bacterial cells. Among different size fractions of aerosol, the composite system was more effective in finer size fractions (<0.25 μm) of aerosol due to the interaction of smaller aroma compounds with bacterial cells. The study revealed that LGEO loaded chitosan and cellulose nanofibers composites could be a good option for controlling the culturable bacteria even in small-sized respirable bioaerosol.