If you’re the type of person who likes to run errands right after sweating it out in the gym, or if you live in a tropical country, you’re going to love what we’re about to say next. Scientists are working on a fabric that gives off a pleasant lemony aroma when you sweat. Yup, no kidding!
While the processes for embedding fabric with scents already exist, reaserchers are now combining the idea with concepts taken from advanced smart fabrics. Engineers from the University of Minho in Portugal have developed a two different ways to change cotton fabric so that lets off a citronella aroma as soon as it comes to contact with sweat. Their methods for using sweat against itself are outlined in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
A protein found in pigs’noses is used for binding the aroma to the fabric. Scientists also attached what's known as a carbohydrate-binding module, which binds to cotton. They used a second method involving fat-like liposomes rather than proteins to bind the pleasant scent to the fabric.
The tweaked cottons released the citronella scent when they came in contact with an acidic sweat solution. The pig nose protein-treated fabric emitted a "quick burst of scent," while the liposomes cleared the air with a slower, more controlled release.
"Both strategies revealed high potential," the engineers' paper reads. "Functional textiles incorporating fragrances could be an effective clothing deodorizing product."
As a bonus, citronella is also a popular insect repellent. Keeping both the mosquitoes and bad body odor away could soon be as simple as reeling off 50 quick jumping jacks.
