Transglutaminase‐mediated crosslinking of gelatin onto wool surfaces to improve the fabric properties

In this study, transglutaminase (TGase)‐mediated crosslinking of gelatin on the surface of wool and its effect on the properties of wool fabric were investigated. For the wool fabric used in this study, gelatin (3 g/L) treatment for 1 h combined with 20 U/g of fabric microbial TGase reduced the area shrinkage of KMnO₄‐pretreated wool fabric from 6.53 ± 0.06 to 1.92 ± 0.15%, which was more effective than that treated with gelatin alone (in which the area shrinkage was reduced to 4.02 ± 0.10%). At the same time, the tensile strength recovered from 267 ± 2.0 to 335 ± 2.1 N. The antifelting ability of treated wool fabric exhibited better washing durability. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the gelatin material smoothed the wool fiber surface by coating or filling the raised scales of the wool with TGase. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009