Arabian Journal of Chemistry (2020) 13, 1094–1104

King Saud University

Arabian Journal of Chemistry

www.ksu.edu.sa
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing

and antimicrobial properties of wool and silk fibers
with some natural dyes
E.M. El-Khatib *, N.F. Ali, R.S.R. El-Mohamedy

National Research Centre, El Buhouth St., Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt

Received 27 May 2017; accepted 19 September 2017

Available online 27 September 2017

KEYWORDS Abstract Wool and silk fibers pretreated with neem oil and dyed with chlorophyll, saffron red and
Wool fibers; yellow natural dyes using economic methods such as microwave heating and ultrasonic energy. The
Silk fibers; effect of neem oil concentrations on color strength (K/S) was measured. The results indicated that,
Neem oil; wool and silk fibers pretreated with neem oil recorded higher color strength values than the
Chlorophyll; untreated fibers. Fastness properties and the color yield of the dyes under investigation on wool
Saffron red; and silk fibers were evaluated. The results indicated that, color fastness to rubbing, washing and
Saffron yellow natural dyes; perspiration of all dyes are excellent to good and are approximately the same in microwave and
Antimicrobial activity ultrasonic method. The antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi were tested, and the results
indicated that the samples pretreated exhibited higher inhibition percent than the untreated fibers.
The morphologies structure of the untreated and treated wool fibers were examined by scanning
electron microscopy (SEM). The untreated samples have a rough surface. The pretreated samples
of wool fibers were swelling compared to the untreated fibers .The diameter of the fibers increased
and have smooth and even surfaces. The changes in the surface morphology due to the effect of
active ingredients of treatment with neem oil. This behavior as swelling and increase in diameter
of the fibers leads to high penetration of the dyes in the fibers.
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article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction

The rapid growth in technical fibers and their end-uses leads to

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dreman411@yahoo.com (E.M. El-Khatib).
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.
Production and hosting by Elsevier
many requirements for the application of innovative modifica-
tion in dyeing and finishing in textile industry. Novel treat-
ments finishes of high added value for apparel fibers are also
greatly appreciated by demanding consumer market. Antimi-
crobial textiles with improved functionality find a variety of
applications such as health, hygiene products and several med-
ical applications (Joshi, 2009a, 2009b).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2017.09.012
1878-5352 Ó 2017 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing and antimicrobial properties
In the last few years, the increase in new antimicrobial
fibers technologies and the growing awareness about cleaner
surroundings and healthy lifestyle. Textile products based on
synthetic antimicrobial agents such as triclosan, metal and
their salts, organo metallics, phenols and quaternary ammo-
nium compounds, have been developed. Although, the syn-
thetic antimicrobial compounds are very effective against
microbes and give a durable effect on fibers, but it caused
water pollution. Consequently, there is a great demand for nat-
ural antimicrobial textiles based on eco-friendly compounds
which not only help to reduce health hazards associated due
to microbial growth on textile material but also improve the
environment (Hebeish et al., 2012; Joshi, 2009a, 2009b). The
use of natural products such as chitosan (Shin et al., 2010)
and natural dyes for antimicrobial finishing of textile fibers
has been reported (El-Khatib et al., 2016, 2014; Ali et al.,
2014). Other natural herbal products, such as Aloe Vera, tea
tree oil extracts, can also be used for this purpose (Sanjay,
2013). There is a large source of medicinal plants has active
antimicrobial ingredients. The study on natural products rich
in antimicrobial agents, is very limited and not well docu-
mented. The reactions of herbal products as compared to mod-
ern synthetic pharmaceuticals, with their reduced cost, can be
exploited as an effective eco friendly alternative to synthetic
antimicrobial agents for textile applications. Recent develop-
ments on plant based bioactive agents have opened up new
opportunities in research. Most of the papers in this area con-
centrate on the technical details of applying individual natural
products. The review on the natural product based on antimi-
crobial finishing agents for application on textiles has been
reported (Kwong et al., 2006, Thilagavathi et al., 2007).
The consumers are now aware of the hygienic life style and
there is a necessity for textile products finished with antimicro-
bial properties by natural /products. The inherent properties of
the textile fibers provide environment for the growth of
microorganisms. Also, the structure of the substrates and the
chemical processes may initiate the growth of microbes.
Humid and warm environment increase the problem.
Infestation by microbes causes cross infection by pathogens
and produce odor. In addition, the staining and loss of the per-
formance properties of textile fibers are the results of microbial
Fig. 1 Neem oil extract (pretreatment agent).
1095
attack (Ramachandran et al., 2004). In recent years antimicro-
bial textiles have gained interest from both academic research
and industry because of their potential to provide high-quality
life and safety benefits to people (Purwar and Joshi, 2004).
Textile products are prone to host micro-organisms responsible
for diseases, unpleasant odors, color degradation and deterio-
ration of textiles. Antimicrobial textiles can be used to produce
many goods such as sportswear, outdoor apparels, undergar-
ments, shoes, furnishings, upholstery, hospital linens, wound
care wraps, towels and wipes. Self-sterilizing fabrics could have
potential benefits to reduce disease transfers among hospital
populations, bio warfare protection and other applications.
Neem (Azadira chtaindica), an evergreen tree of India,
belongs to the plant family Meliaceae (mahogany). It has been
recognized as one of the most sources of compounds with
insect control, antibacterial and medicinal properties
(Rajendran, 2012).
Neem has been used as a traditional medicine against vari-
ous human ailments from ancient times in Egypt. However,
Neem has also received a lot of attention worldwide for its
potential use as a herbal pesticide and other healthcare formu-
lations in countries such as India, China, USA, France, Ger-
many and Italy. The active ingredients of Neem are found in
all parts of the tree but in general, seed, bark, leaves and roots
are used for extraction purpose. The most important limonoids
are azadirachtin and salannin. The Neem extracts have been
widely used in herbal pesticide formulation because of its pest
repellent properties has a potential to inhibit growth of bacte-
ria both Gram positive and Gram negative (Kut et al., 2005).
From the point of view, the neem seed is the most impor-
tant part of the plant given its content in oil and its many
active molecules. That is why special attention is paid to the
seed. However, research on the seeds has increased since the
isolation of azadirachtin as a natural insecticide. It has multi-
ple uses mainly for the soap, pesticide and pharmaceutical
(Sidhu et al., 2003). It also has antibacterial, antifungal and
medicinal properties (Imam et al., 2012).
The aim of this work is the pretreatments for wool and silk
fibers by neem oil to enhance dyeing and the antimicrobial
activity. It is necessary to avoid cross infection by pathogenic
microorganisms. These treatments control the infestation by
1096 E.M. El-Khatib et al.

2. Experimental

2.1. Materials

2.1.1. Wool fibers

Wool fibers10/2, and silk fibers supplied by El Mahalla
company-Egypt. Neem oil extract was purchased from
ELGmhoria company, Egypt.

Fig. 2 Chemical structure of effective constituent of neem oil
extract.
2.1.2. Dyestuffs
– Chlorophyll (a) dye (Chlorophyll-100-WSP: A commercial
product by HANSEN‘S Company.
– Saffron yellow and red dyes (Saffron is the dried stigma of
flowers of Crocus sativus L. Saffron red and yellow).
2.2. Apparatus

microbes. They also interrupt metabolism in microbes in order 2.2.1. Microwave

to reduce the formation of odor and to safeguard the fibers
products from staining discoloration and quality deterioration.
On the other hand, the aim of this research to use extracted
natural pigments which extracted from plants such as chloro-
phyll, saffron red and yellow dyes for dyeing wool and silk
fibers. Natural dyes have been used for coloring fibers to pro-
tect the environment and prevent pollution caused by indus-
tries. The dyeing was carried out by using economic methods
such as ultrasonic energy and microwave heating. These
methods are economic and better but not be used in industry.
The microwave equipment used in this experiment was the
Samsung M 245 with an output of 1550 Watt operating at
2450 MHz (see Figs. 1–5).
2.2.2. Ultrasonic
Thermostated CREST benchtop 575 HT ultrasonic cleaner of
capacity 5.75 L, frequency 38.5 kHz and with a maximum 500
Watt output was used. The output power levels are from 100
up 500 Watt.

Fig. 3 Chlorophyll plant, Chemical Structure of Chlorophyll (a).

Fig. 4 Saffron yellow and red dyes (Saffron is the dried stigma of flowers of Crocus sativus L. Saffron red and yellow dyes).
Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing and antimicrobial properties
Fig. 5 Structures of the chemical constituents of saffron.
2.3. Pretreatment of wool and silk fibers by neem oil
Wool and silk fibers treated by pad-dry-cure techniques. The
wool fibers treated by neem oil extract at different concentra-
tions (20–50%)and silk fibers treated by neem oil extract at
concentrations (2–10%), then padded to 100% wet pick up,
dried at 80 °C for 5 min. then cured at 120 °C for 3 min.
2.4. Dyeing procedure
2.4.1. Dyeing wool and silk fibers using microwave method
In a dye bath containing 2 g/l of chlorophyll dye, saffron yel-
low and saffron red dye with a liquor ratio 1:50, the wool and
silk fibers were dyed by microwave heating at pH 5, time for
5 min. The dyed samples were rinsed by warm water and then
cold water, washed in a bath containing 5 g/l non-ionic deter-
gent at 50 °C for 30 min, then rinsed and dried in air at room
temperature.
2.4.2. Dyeing wool and silk fibers using ultrasonic method
Wool and Silk fibers were dyed with (2 g/L) chlorophyll, saf-
fron red and yellow dyes using ultrasonic energy at L.R 1:50,
pH 5. The samples were dyed at temperature 50 °C for
30 min, the power energy of ultrasonic 500 Watt then the sam-
ples rinsed with cold water, washed in a bath containing 5 g/l
non-ionic detergent, at 50 °C for 30 min then rinsed and dried
in air at room temperature.
2.5. Measurements
2.5.1. Measurements of color strength (K/S value)
An Ultra Scan PRO spectrophotometer was used to measure
the reflectance of the samples and hence, the K/S was mea-
sured spectrophotometrically at wave lengths (Chlorophyll
dye: kmax 440, Saffron red dye: kmax 520 and Saffron yellow
dye: kmax 385 nm). The color strength K/S of untreated and
1097
pretreated wool and silk fibers with neem oil extract dyed with
Chlorophyll, saffron red and yellow dyes was evaluated.
2.5.2. Color data CIE LAB space
Color-difference formula CIE (L*, a*, b*): The total difference
CIE (L*, a*, b*) was measured using the Hunter-Lab spec-
trophotometer (model: Hunter Lab DP-9000). CIE (L*, a*, b*)
between two colors each given in terms of L*, a*, b* is calcu-
lated from: L* value: indicates lightness, (+) if sample is
lighter than standard, if darker than standard, a* and b* val-
ues: indicate the relative positions in CIE Lab space of the
sample and the standard, from which some indication of the
nature of the difference can be seen. Treated and untreated
dyed wool and silk fibers were assessed, by measuring the color
differences with each sample at five separate points and the
average color difference (DE) between these points was
determined.
2.5.3. Fastness properties
According to ISO standard methods. The specific tests were
ISO 105-X12 (1987), ISO 105-C02 (1989) and ISO 105-E04
(1989), corresponding to color fastness to rubbing, washing
and perspiration, respectively. The color changes of the sam-
ples were assessed against an accurate Gray scale.
2.5.4. Measurements of antimicrobial activity
The antimicrobial activities of wool and silk fibers dyed with
chlorophyll, saffron red and yellow natural dyes and pre-
treated with neem oil was evaluated by using standard meth-
ods(serial dilution and plate count method according to Alen
(1962). Experiment on soil bacteriology Burges Publishing
Co. Minneapolis Minnesota USA.
The serial dilution blanks were prepared in bottles contain-
ing 99 ml distilled water and marked sequentially starting from
10 1 to 10 5 dilution and autoclave sterilized. 1.0 gm of each
fabric sample was added in 99 ml solution i.e. 10–1 dilution.
1 ml from this was then transferred to 9 ml of the 10 2labeled
1098
test tube i.e. 10 2 dilution, using a fresh sterile pipette; and this
was repeated for each succeeding step till 10 5. Nutrient pep-
tone Agar media was used for counting of bacterial strains
and for the counting of fungal strains potato dextrose agar
(PDA) media was used. From 10 3, 10 4, and 10–5 dilution
tubes, 0.1 ml of dilution fluid was then spread on sterilized pet-
riplates in triplicates using the standard spread plate technique,
for both bacterial and fungal strain isolation .The LB agar
plates were then incubated at 37 °C for 24 h and the PDA
plates were incubated at 27 °C for 72 h. After successful
growth of microorganisms, characteristics of each distinct col-
ony, e.g., shapes, color, transparency, etc. were determined.
Gram stain was performed to observe the cellular morphology
and gram reaction of the bacteria. The number of bacterial and
fungal colonies in the fiber samples was counted and the den-
sity was expressed as Colony Forming Units (CFU). The
antimicrobial activity was estimated and expressed as reduc-
tion in total count of fungi and bacteria in each treatment.
2.5.5. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
The surface morphology of untreated and pretreated wool
fibers were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy
Fig. 6 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on the K/S of dyed wool
fibers with chlorophyll dye by microwave and ultrasonic methods.
Fig. 7 Samples of wool fibers untreated and pretreated with neem oil and dyed with chlorophyll dye by microwave method.
E.M. El-Khatib et al.
(SEM), with a JSMT-20, JEOL-Japan. Before examination,
wool fibers surface was prepared on an appropriate disk and
randomly coated with a spray of gold. SEM was carried out
at the National Research Centre (Egypt).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of concentrations of neem oil extract on wool fibers
dyed with chlorophyll dye
The results obtained indicated that, the pretreatment using
30% concentration of neem oil extract gave the highest value
of color strength (K/S) for wool fibers dyed with chlorophyll
dye by microwave and ultrasonic methods as shown in
Fig. 6, Fig. 7 illustrate samples of wool fibers untreated and
pretreated with neem oil and dyed with chlorophyll dye by
microwave method.
The Effect of Microwave heating mechanism is through
ionic conduction, which is a type of resistance heating.
Depending on the acceleration of the ions through the dye
solution, it results in collision of dye molecules with the mole-
cules of the fiber (Zhao and He, 2011).
Microwave dyeing takes into account the dielectric and
the thermal properties of matter. The dielectric property
refers to the intrinsic electrical properties that affect the dye-
ing by dipolar rotation of the dye and influences the micro-
wave field upon the dipoles. The aqueous solution of dye
has two components which are polar, in the high frequency
microwave field. It influences the vibration energy in the
water molecules and the dye molecules (Zhan and Zhao,
2009).
There are many hypotheses explaining the possible action
of ultrasonic energy on the dyeing system. Theoretical explana-
tions have been presented which attribute this effect to wave’s
high energy influencing the dyeing system by means of
mechanical or hydrodynamic forces associated with cavita-
tions which affected on the structure of dye (Shokry et al.,
2010).
Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing and antimicrobial properties
Fig. 8 Effect of conc. of neem oil on silk fibers dyed with saffron
red dye by microwave and ultrasonic methods.
3.2. Effect of conc. of neem oil on silk fibers dyed with saffron
red dye and yellow by microwave and ultrasonic methods
The results obtained indicated that dyeing silk fibers with
saffron red and yellow dye by microwave and ultrasonic
methods. The samples pretreated with 4% neem oil exhibited
highest value of color strength (K/S). Generally the
pretreated silk fibers gave higher results than the untreated
as shown in Figs. 8 and 10. Figs. 9 and 11 illustrate samples
of silk fibers untreated and pretreated with neem oil
and dyed with saffron red and yellow dyes by microwave
method.
In addition, the colorimetric CIE L*a *b*C*h data were
evaluated for dyed wool and silk fibers were shown in Tables
1–5. The color strength changes remarkably as different con-
centrations of neem oil were used while the Lab values show
that samples treated with 4% are darker in shades. The results
obtained revealed that, the pretreatment with neem oil extract
enhanced the leveling properties.
Fig. 9 Samples of silk fibers untreated and pretreated with neem oil and dyed with saffron red dye by microwave method.
1099
Fig. 10 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on silk fibers dyed
with saffron red dye by microwave and ultrasonic methods.
3.3. Fastness properties and the color yield of chlorophyll,
saffron red and yellow dyes on wool and silk fibers
Fastness properties and the color yield of the dyes under inves-
tigation on wool and silk fibers were evaluated. Table 6 indi-
cate that color fastness to rubbing, washing and perspiration
of all dyes are excellent to good and are approximately the
same in microwave and ultrasonic methods, because the dye
was fixed due to the treatment with neem oil.
3.4. Antimicrobial activities of wool and silk fibers
The antimicrobial activities of dyed wool and silk fibers dyed
with chlorophyll, saffron red and yellow dyes and pretreated
with different concentrations of neem oil were expressed as
reduction percents in total count of fungi and bacteria associ-
ated with 1 gram of treated fibers as shown in Figs. 12–14
(El-Mohamedy and Abdalla, 2014a, 2014b).
Antimicrobial activity, expressed as growth reduction of the
microorganisms, could be explained as follows, the hydroxyl
groups in neem oil structure interfere with the bacterial
1100 E.M. El-Khatib et al.

Fig. 11 Samples of silk fibers untreated and treated with neem oil and dyed with saffron yellow dye by microwave method.

Table 1 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on wool fibers dyed with chlorophyll dye by ultrasonic method.
Sample No. K/S L* a* b* C* H DE
0% 6.00 42.59 6.97 16.69 18.08 112.66 46.27
20% 7.31 54.62 6.78 18.35 19.56 110.29 58.01
30% 10.6 49.96 7.63 17.76 19.33 113.24 53.48
40% 9.71 49.14 6.39 16.87 18.04 110.74 52.34
50% 10.0 48.52 8.46 16.85 18.85 116.65 52.06

Table 2 Effect of conc. of neem oil on silk fibers dyed with saffron red dye by microwave method.
Sample No. K/S L* a* b* C* H DE
0% 20.00 39.44 65.93 27.89 63.39 26.10 74.66
2% 25.35 39.43 57.48 28.83 64.30 26.64 75.43
4% 31.83 37.77 56.46 28.02 63.03 26.39 73.48
6% 29.54 38.15 65.80 27.94 63.30 26.19 73.91
8% 21.84 37.18 50.52 20.19 54.41 21.78 65.90
10% 20.80 35.18 40.52 20.89 52.41 20.78 64.90

Table 3 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on silk fibers dyed with saffron red dye by ultrasonic method.
Conc. of neem oil extract K/S L* a* b* C* H DE
0 2.69 63.30 43.91 4.83 44.17 6.27 56.76
2% 4.27 44.75 43.92 10.15 45.08 13.02 51.10
4% 23.32 60.66 56.92 20.05 60.35 19.41 71.24
6% 7.83 42.51 52.79 14.10 54.64 14.95 63.89
8% 5.17 49.65 49.93 14.85 52.02 16.28 59.08
10% 2.42 45.03 45.88 15.10 48.00 17.08 51.12

metabolism by stacking at the cell surface and binding with
DNA to inhibit m-RNA synthesis. The increasing of concen-
tration of neem oil shows more tendencies to deposit on the
surface of the fibers resulting in hydroxyl groups more easily
accessible to microorganisms. Wool fibers treated with neem
oil and dyed with the chlorophyll natural dye display high
growth reduction of microbes.
3.5. Surface morphology
The morphologies structure of the untreated and pretreated
wool fibers were examined by scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). Effect of treatment with 30% conc. of neem oil using
scanning electron microscope (SEM) for wool fibers,
Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing and antimicrobial properties 1101

Table 4 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on silk fibers dyed with saffron yellow dye by microwave method.
Conc. of neem oil extract K/S L* a* b* C* H DE
0% 12.96 73.53 16.19 81.92 83.51 78.82 112.27
2% 22.27 71.29 20.64 88.93 91.29 76.93 115.82
4% 15.02 75.13 15.42 86.51 87.87 79.89 115.61
6% 17.40 70.97 17.43 83.30 85.11 78.18 110.81
8% 13.56 71.56 23.77 79.47 82.95 73.35 109.55
10% 12.56 70.56 23.75 76.42 81.90 71.35 107.53

Table 5 Effect of conc. of neem oil extract on silk fibers dyed with saffron yellow dye by ultrasonic method.
Conc. of neem oil extract K/S L* a* b* C* H DE
0 1.66 84.32 5.35 69.28 69.48 85.58 56.71
2% 3.05 79.76 9.00 56.28 56.99 80.02 41.66
4% 12.33 87.28 2.53 56.44 56.49 87.44 41.66
6% 10.23 73.75 10.90 82.80 83.51 82.50 88.36
8% 5.75 82.12 7.12 81.92 82.23 85.03 66.73
10% 3.86 79.97 6.08 5.86 66.14 84.73 50.63

Table 6 Fastness properties of dyed wool and silk fibers pretreated with neem oil extract and dyed with chlorophyll, saffron red and
yellow dyes.
Dye Fastness to rubbing Wash fastness Fastness to Perspiration
Alkaline Acidic
Dry Wet Alt SC SW Alt SC SW Alt SC SW
Chlorophyll dye 5 5 4–5 4–5 4–5 5 4–5 4–5 4–5 5 5
Saffron yellow 4–5 4–5 5 5 4–5 5 4–5 4–5 5 4–5 4–5
Saffron red 4–5 5 5 5 4–5 5 4–5 4–5 5 4–5 4–5
Untreated 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 4
Alt = change in color, SC = staining on cotton, SW = staining on wool.

Fig. 12 Antimicrobial activities of wool fibers untreated and treated with neem oil extract and dyed with chlorophyll natural dye.

Fig. 15a, Fig. 15b represent the SEM images of untreated and swelling compared to the untreated fibers, the diameter of
treated wool fibers respectively. The untreated samples have a the fibers increase and have smooth and even surfaces. The
rough surface as shown in Fig. 15a, the treated samples as changes in the surface morphology due to the effect of active
shown in Fig. 15b indicate that the treated wool fibers were ingredients of treatment with neem oil.
1102 E.M. El-Khatib et al.

Fig. 13 Antimicrobial activities of silk fibers untreated and treated with neem oil extract and dyed with saffron red natural dye.

Fig. 14 Antimicrobial activities of silk fibers untreated and treated with neem oil extract and dyed with saffron yellow natural dye.

Fig. 15a SEM for untreated wool fibers.

Influence of Neen oil pretreatment on the dyeing and antimicrobial properties
Fig. 15b SEM for pretreated wool fibers with 30% conc. of neem oil extract.
4. Conclusion
Dyeing wool and silk fibers with chlorophyll, saffron red and
yellow natural dyes pretreated with neem oil extract as (pre-
treatment agent) by microwave heating and ultrasonic energy
methods, exhibited higher results of color strength (K/S) value
than the untreated fibers.
Microwave dyeing takes into account the dielectric and the
thermal properties of matter. The dielectric property refers to
the intrinsic electrical properties that affect the dyeing by dipo-
lar rotation of the dye and influences the microwave field upon
the dipoles. The aqueous solution of dye has two components
which are polar, in the high frequency microwave field. It influ-
ences the vibration energy in the water molecules and the dye
molecules.
The antimicrobial activities of wool and silk fibers pre-
treated with different concentration of neem oil and dyed with
chlorophyll, saffron red and yellow natural dyes were
expressed as reduction percentages in total count of fungi
and bacteria were increased. The antimicrobial activities of
wool and silk fibers pretreated with neem oil gave higher
results than untreated fibers. These treatments control the
infestation by microbes. They also interrupt metabolism in
microbes in order to reduce the formation of odor and to safe-
guard the fibers products from staining discoloration and qual-
ity deterioration.
It was found also that the use of microwave and ultra-
sonic energy in dyeing processes offers advantages from the
point of view uniform dyeing and conservation of energy
and time. The dyed fibers are used in manufacture of carpets
by handlooms.
Acknowledgment
This project was supported financially by the Science and
Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egypt, Grant No
10390.
1103
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