Abstract
The extraction of feather keratin biopolymer structures was studied using chicken feathers as a biomass material by the cold acid hydrolysis reaction; the recrystallization stage was performed using microwave or ultrasound irradiation, and conduction heating was used as a reference. The microwave or ultrasound irradiation modified the texture and the morphology of the obtained materials, and they can be controlled depending on the time exposure and the power of the irradiation; this has high relevance in the design of new materials to obtain nanostructures depending on the specific application. It was found that the microwave irradiation promotes the growth of the beta sheet over the alpha helix, and in the case of ultrasound irradiation, the growth is reversed being similar to the conduction heating; the porosity properties remain invariant, modifying the particle sizes depending on the exposure time and power of irradiation. Therefore, the feather keratin biopolymer, when modified by microwaves and ultrasound in the recrystallization stage, is a fibrous protein that has good mechanical, structural, morphological, and thermal properties with potential applications such as development of biocompatible materials with cellular interaction and in catalysis as catalytic and enzymatic support to mention just a few.
Highlights
Keratin is an essential part of wool, hair, nails, feathers, and horns of different animals, providing mechanical and protective support in adapting to the ecosystem [1]
Cystine determines the structure of keratin depending on the content of the former, that is, to say in the form of alpha helix (Figure 1(a)) or beta sheet (Figure 1(b)), and this has an essential role in the determination of the physicochemical properties of keratin
According to the literature which uses high temperature conditions (T > 120°C), long extraction times (72 h), nonecological reagents, and yields below 80% of keratin extraction, in this study we proposed the oxidation method with a 50% diluted acid, assisted with microwave and ultrasound irradiation, which has not been reported yet in the recrystallization stage. ese irradiation methods have advantages over conventional treatments, such as faster heating rate and greater efficiency in crystallization kinetics, and in addition, they allow the formation of nanostructures with different morphologies and textures depending on the type, time, and power of the irradiation [20, 22]
Summary
Keratin is an essential part of wool, hair, nails (hooves), feathers, and horns of different animals, providing mechanical and protective support in adapting to the ecosystem [1]. It is one of the most abundant and unexplored structural protein sources contained in epithelial cells and together with collagen are the most important biopolymers found in biological structures [2]. E objective of this work was the evaluation of the morphology and texture in the recrystallization stage of keratin, as well as to study the changes in the secondary structure (alpha or beta) and tertiary structure (peptide bonds) at different times and irradiation power
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