Cashmere Modification with Biological Macromolecules by Plasma-Enzyme Crosslinking Technique

Biogenic extracts are widely used in the food and cosmetic fields for their excellent health care benefits and biocompatibility. Here, to develop multifunctional health cashmere fiber, biological macromolecules (chitosan, sericin and collagen) are grafted onto the surface of ammonia plasma pretreated fibers using transglutamaminase and tyrosinase respectively as bridging agents. In grafting experiments, immersing and padding process is used. It is shown that the maximum grafting can be achieved in the condition of 45°C and pH=6.5 after 3h for transglutamaminase, and another optimal case is at 30°C, 24h and pH=6.0 for tyrosinase. After the functional modification four types of modified cashmere exhibits better inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli, especially for the chitosan-cashmere and sericin-cashmere. In addition, it is found that the strength and thermal degradation property of modified cashmere are improved, the whiteness and hand feel of chitosan-cashmere are reduced, and the dyeing properties of collagen-cashmere and silk-cashmere are not much changed apart from chitosan-cashmere.