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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386943
Research Project: Commercial Products from Lipids and Fibers

Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research

Title: Modification of wool fibers via base/cationic detergent pretreatment and transglutaminase-mediated reaction of keratin

Author
item CHEN, NUSHENG - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Liu, Cheng Kung
item Ashby, Richard - Rick

Submitted to: Journal of Natural Fibers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2021
Publication Date: 11/14/2021
Citation: Chen, N., Liu, C., Ashby, R.D. 2021. Modification of wool fibers via base/cationic detergent pretreatment and transglutaminase-mediated reaction of keratin. Journal of Natural Fibers. https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2021.2002780.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2021.2002780

Interpretive Summary: Recently, with the increasing concern for environment and the growing demand for eco-friendly or less harmful products, wool products have drawn added attention. However, the drawbacks of wool cannot be ignored. For example, wool-made apparel is susceptible to felting and shrinking upon washing, The surface modification of wool fibers is an important part of the textile industry to add functionality and stability to wool products. ARS scientists at Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania have developed a process utilizing a base/cationic surfactant solution pretreatment followed by an enzyme-mediated keratin crosslinking reaction to modify the wool fibers’ surface. Changes in water contact angle demonstrated the successful transformation of the hydrophobic wool surface to a more hydrophilic one. The surface of the fibers appeared smoother after keratin coating and filling scales. These research results will be beneficial to the textile industry by providing a facile, environmentally-friendly process to improve the quality of wool products.

Technical Abstract: The surface modification of wool fibers is an important part of the textile industry to add functionality and stability to wool products. In this study, we developed a process utilizing a base/cationic surfactant solution pretreatment followed by an enzyme-mediated keratin crosslinking reaction to modify the wool fibers. Changes in water contact angle demonstrated the successful transformation of the hydrophobic wool surface to a more hydrophilic one after soaking in sodium carbonate solution containing hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The treated fabrics were further characterized by colorimetry and fluorescent spectrometry. Results showed that the pretreatment increased the yellowness of fabrics and caused some structural changes among certain amino acids, such as tryptophan and cystine. Keratin extracted from coarse wool fibers was further applied on pretreated fabrics through a microbial transglutaminase (mTGase) mediated reaction under mild conditions. Morphological characterization via SEM demonstrated the effective coverage of keratin on the scales of wool. The current method may provide an alternative processing protocol to modify wool fibers and improve the quality and performance of wool products.