A Novel Approach to Enzymatic Unhairing and Fiber Opening of Skin Using Enzymes Immobilized on Magnetite Nanoparticles

Abstract

One of the prerequisites for making leather is to remove the inter-fibrillar proteins and noncollagenous materials, such as hair, flesh, etc. These proteinous and nonproteinous materials are removed in several steps, cumulatively known as the pretanning (or beam house) operations. A paradigm shift from chemical- to enzyme-based processes ensured that these noncollagenous materials were removed using enzymatic digestion rather than brutal osmotic forces employing chemicals like lime and sulfide. In order to make sure that a cocktail of enzymes (protease + amylase) have broad application and stability, their immobilization onto matrices that can enable overcoming such drawbacks is essential. This work, taking clues from the catalytic applications of nanoparticle-immobilized enzymes looks at metal oxide nanoparticle-immobilized enzymes for unhairing and fiber opening applications in a facile manner. Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles have been selected for the present study since metal oxides are proven as an ...