Grafting of Poly(tyrosine) by Laccase Improves the Tensile Strength and Anti-shrinkage of Wool

ABSTRACT

The laccase-assisted grafting of poly(tyrosine) is performed aiming to impart shrink-resistant properties to the wool materials. Laccase is able to catalyze the oxidation of tyrosine into dityrosine efficiently. When the reaction is performed using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the template, the tyrosine oxidation gives rise to differentiated oxidation products, including di-, tri-, and tetra-tyrosine, promoting a higher grafting onto the wool fibers. The characterization of the grafted wool fibers and fabrics reveals some loss of crystallinity (about 4% of crystallization index) and thermal resistance (decreasing from 232°C to 224°C) resulting from the grafting process. However, the new bonds established between the new oxidation products and the amino groups of the wool promote an improvement, not only of the shrinkage properties (1.87% of area shrinkage) but also of their mechanical behavior (increasing by 45.28%). The strategy herein presented demonstrates the potentiality to be applied as a “green” process for wool anti-shrinkage without compromising the fibers’ performance.

摘要

漆酶辅助接枝聚酪氨酸的目的是赋予羊毛材料抗毡缩性能. 漆酶能有效地催化酪氨酸氧化为联二酪氨酸. 当使用聚乙二醇(PEG)作为模板进行反应时,酪氨酸被氧化产生不同的氧化产物,包括联二、三和四酪氨酸,从而提高聚酪氨酸在羊毛纤维上的接枝率. 接枝羊毛纤维和织物的表征表明,接枝过程导致其结晶度(约为4%)和耐热性(从232℃降至224℃)有所损失. 然而,在酪氨酸的氧化产物和羊毛的氨基之间形成的新化学键不仅提高了织物的抗毡缩性能(1.87%的面积收缩率),同时改善了其机械性能(增加45.28%). 本文提出的聚酪氨酸接枝法,可在不影响纤维性能的情况下,作为一种“绿色”羊毛防毡缩的“绿色”后整理工艺.

KEYWORDS:

• Wool
• tensile strength
• shrink-resistance
• tyrosine
• laccase

关键词:

• 羊毛
• 纤维强力
• 抗毡缩性
• 酪氨酸
• 漆酶

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52003108) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP121027). This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [52003108]; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [JUSRP121027]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [UIDB/04469/2020].