Improvement of Physical Properties of Tanned Wool Fibers with Trans-Glutaminase

In some tanning industries, a combination of sodium sulfide, lime and water are used for dehairing the hides. This process causes damage to wool fibers and leads to produce a yarn with low tensile strength. Transglutaminases (TGases) are protein cross-linking enzymes capable of adding tensile strength to wool proteins, and consequently remediating the damage caused by previous chemical treatments. In this study, a microbial TGase has been applied to improve the tensile strength of damaged wool fibers. For this purpose, tanned wool was treated by different enzyme concentration and treatment time and the process was optimized. The results of tensile strength measurements indicated a significant improvement in tenacity for enzyme treated yarns. The alkaline solubility of wool yarn decreased with increasing enzyme concentration, while wicking height increased. The SEM photographs showed smooth surface of the tanned wool. The FTIR spectra also confirmed that cross-linking occurred in amide II region.

Keywords:

tanned wool , Transglutaminase , enzymatic treatment , cross-linking