Dyeing wool fabrics with Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) leave extract by using IR dyeing machine.

The use of agricultural waste is becoming more common with the spread of awareness of sustainable life. In the present study, different concentrations (10 gr/L, 15 gr/L, 20 gr/L) of aqueous extracts were obtained from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) leaves as agricultural waste and fabrics containing 100% wool were coloured with these extracts by using infra-red dyeing machine. Aluminium, iron and copper based mordants, which are frequently used in natural dyeing, were added to the extracts. After dyeing process, colours in alluring brown, green and yellow tones were obtained in the fabrics. According to the spectrophotometer measurements, colour yield (K/S) of the samples increased proportionally with increasing concentrations. Washing and rubbing fastness of the dyed wool samples were good, except for the samples dyed with iron-based mordant added extract.

Investigation of Electrical and Wearing Properties of Wool Fabric Coated with PEDOT:PSS.

The way to improve the properties (resistance to washing, delamination, and rubbing off) of the PEDOT:PSS coating applied on wool fabric without reduction of its electrical conductivity by introducing a commercially available combination of low formaldehyde content melamine resins into the printing paste is presented in this paper. Primarily, to improve the hydrophilicity and dyeability of wool fabric, the samples were modified using low-pressure nitrogen (N2) gas plasma. Two commercially available PEDOT:PSS dispersions were used to treat wool fabric by the exhaust dyeing and screen printing methods, respectively. Spectrophotometric measurements of the color difference (ΔE*ab) and visual evaluation of woolen fabric dyed and printed with PEDOT:PSS in different shades of the blue color showed that the sample modified with N2 plasma obtained a more intense color compared to the unmodified one. SEM was used to examine the surface morphology and a cross-sectional view of wool fabric that had undergone various modifications. SEM image shows that the dye penetrates deeper into the wool fabric after plasma modification using dyeing and coating methods with a PEDOT:PSS polymer. In addition, with a Tubicoat fixing agent, HT coating looks more homogeneous and uniform. The chemical structure spectra of wool fabrics coated with PEDOT:PSS were investigated using FTIR-ATR characterization. The influence of melamine formaldehyde resins on the electrical properties, resistance to washing, and mechanical effects of PEDOT:PSS treated wool fabric was also evaluated. The resistivity measurement of the samples containing melamine-formaldehyde resins as an additive did not show a significant decrease in electrical conductivity, while the electrical conductivity was maintained after the washing and rubbing test as well. The best results of electrical conductivity for investigated wool fabrics before and after washing and mechanical action were determined for samples subjected to the combined processing-surface modification by low-pressure N2 plasma, dyeing by exhaust with PEDOT:PSS, and coating by the screen-printing method of PEDOT:PSS and a 3 wt.% melamine formaldehyde resins mixture.

Environmental friendly pollution free bio-dyeing of wool with haar singhar (Coral Jasmine) flower extract.

The world's move towards revival of eco-labelled products has created a huge urge to explore new means which are healthier for the global community. Among such means, plant-based bio-pigments for coloration of matrix are gaining worldwide fame, particularly in the textile sector. For the purpose of appraising new source of eco-friendly dyes, using microwave irradiation techniques, Coral Jasmine flowers have been explored for the bio-dyeing of wool. The colorant was extracted in acidic medium owing to nature of fabric, and both stuffs have been exposed to microwave treatment up to 5 min. Bio-coloration of MW irradiated and unirradiated wool was done using MW irradiated and unirradiated extract for observing high yield. Central composite design (CCD) as statistical method was utilized to see the significance of dyeing parameters chosen for mordanting to develop colorfast shades. Different concentrations of sustainable chemicals and bio-mordants as per weight of fabric were employed to introduce new shades with improved colorfastness properties. International standard textile methods determining shade permanency (fastness) have been employed onto selected dyed-mordanted fabrics. Good yield of colorant was observed when MW irradiated wool fabric was dyed at 75 °C for 45 min with extract of 7 pH, having 1.5g/100 mL of salt solution; the promising color yield was observed. As per gray scale ratings observed after ISO standard methods, pine nut as bio-mordant and iron salt as chemical mordant have developed colorfast shades. Conclusively, it can be recommended that methods for the isolation of colorants from new dye yielding plants, MW heating method as suitable clean technology and medicinal-based bio-mordants should be employed for getting permanent gamutes.

Preparation of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67/wool fabric and its adsorption capacity for reactive dyes.

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) formed by Co2+ and 2-methylimidazole (MIM) is widely used for adsorption and separation of pollutants. However, there are some disadvantages for ZIF-67 powder, such as strong electrostatic interaction and difficulty in recovery from the liquid phase. The available way to solve the above problems is choosing a suitable substrate to load ZIF-67. The amino and hydroxyl of wool fabrics effectively capture and fix ZIF-67, making it easy to separate ZIF-67 by taking out the composite materials from aqueous solution. In this study, ZIF-67/Wool fabric (ZW) was successfully prepared. The results show that ZIF-67 has better adsorption performance for reactive dyes with more sulfonic groups, higher molecular weight and lower steric resistance. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of ZW for reactive red 195 was 4.15 mg g-1. The adsorption accorded with pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm. This study improved the application of ZIF-67, which provided a treatment method for dyeing wastewater and made it possible to recycle waste wool.

Impact of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment of Wool Fabric for Dyeing with PEDOT: PSS.

This study presents the effect of non-thermal plasma modification on the changes of surface morphology, color characteristics and electrical conductivity of wool fabric dyed with intrinsically conductive polymer (ICP) poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS). The wool fabric was treated with an aqueous dispersion of PEDOT: PSS, Clevios F ET, providing electrically conductive properties to textiles. The wool fabric, containing basic groups of amines (NH2), was pre-activated with low-pressure plasma of non-polymer forming nitrogen (N2) gas before exhaust dyeing with PEDOT: PSS at 90 °C was applied. This treatment imparted hydrophilicity, reduced felting, increased adhesion, improved dye ability and ensured that more PEDOT: PSS negatively charged sulfonate (-SO3-) counter ions would be electrostatically bounded with the cationic protonated amine groups of the wool fiber. Initially, before (N2) plasma treatment and after fabrics were evaluated according to the test method for aqueous liquid repellency, the surface morphology of the plasma-modified and -unmodified wool dyed fabric was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The functional groups introduced onto the surface after N2 gas plasma treatment of wool fabric were characterized by X-ray photoelectron and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The results of color difference measurements show that N2 gas plasma treatments provide more intense color on Clevios F ET dyed wool fabric and retain its electrical conductivity.

A local Talaromyces atroroseus TRP-NRC isolate: isolation, genetic improvement, and biotechnological approach combined with LC/HRESI-MS characterization, skin safety, and wool fabric dyeing ability of the produced red pigment mixture.

BACKGROUND: During the last decade, enormous research efforts have been directed at identifying potent microorganisms as sustainable green cell factories for eco-friendly pigments. Talaromyces atroroseus has recently been shown to excrete large amounts of azaphilone mycotoxin-free red pigment mixture comprising some known coloring components together with many uncharacterized metabolites. In this study, a new Talaromyces atroroseus isolate was identified via sequencing of the fragment of the nuclear ribosomal gene cluster containing internal transcribed spacers and 5.8S rRNA gene. The parameters that affected the level of pigment production were optimized in uncommon static conditions of culture and genetic improvement, via γ-irradiation, to improve pigment yield. Moreover, chemical characterization using LC/MS and skin safety test of the target pigment mixture were precisely conducted to maximize its benefits as a natural and safe red pigment for wool fabrics. RESULTS: Molecular identification via the sequencing of the ITS of the rDNA encoding gene cluster revealed that the fungal isolate TRP-NRC was T. atroroseus TRP-NRC (deposited in GenBank under accession number MW282329). In the static conditions of culture, pigment production was dramatically enhanced to 27.36 g/L in an optimum yeast malt peptone medium of 2% mannitol at pH 2-4.5 and 30 °C for 7 days of incubation. Under exposure to a 400-Gy γ-radiation dose, pigment yield was increased to a 3-fold level higher than that recorded for the wild type. Based on the inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), as a molecular marker tool, the wild-type T. atroroseus TRP-NRC strain and its mutants were discriminated. The UHPLC/HRESI-MS analytical tool characterized 60 metabolites, including many unknown molecules, at appropriate concentrations. It is worthy to note that four mitorubrin derivatives were identified for the first time in T. atroroseus, i.e., mitorubrinolamine acetate, dihydro-PP-O, mitorobrinal, and mitorubrinol. The range of irritation indexes (0-0.1) demonstrated an adequate skin safety after the direct local application of the pigment mixture. Finally, the pigment mixture exhibited a remarkably good dyeing ability in wool fabrics, with high-fastness properties. CONCLUSIONS: Because of its sustainable and economic production, the target red pigment mixture may be applied in the future in textile, food, cosmetics, or different pharmaceutical industries after extensive conventional safety and toxicity studies, which are currently under consideration.

Facile fabrication of durable antibacterial and anti-felting wool fabrics with enhanced comfort via novel N-phenylmaleimide finishing.

In this study, we successfully synthesized N-phenylmaleimide (NPMI) and applied it to wool fabrics to obtain robust antimicrobial properties. First, tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP) was utilized as a reducing agent to produce thiol-active groups on wool fibers. These thiol groups were then reacted with the C=C group of NPMI via thiol-ene click chemistry. The morphology and structure of the finished NPMI composite wool fabric were characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composite wool fabrics exhibited durable antibacterial properties against both S. aureus and E. coli and the antimicrobial rates of both E. coli and S. aureus were around 99% after one standard washing cycle, with only a slight decrease of 95% after ten standard washing cycles, respectively. In addition, the composite wool fabric exhibited good anti-felting performance and maintained its original excellent breathability and moisture permeability. The present work provides a facile and sustainable strategy for constructing durable antimicrobial wool fabrics without losing their original properties.

A novel tool for the adsorption of dsDNA: Electrochemical reduction of Pd nanoparticles onto reduced-keratin particles extracted from wool wastes.

This work outlines the fabrication of a novel electrochemical platform for the dsDNA adsorption, using one of the most sustainable materials, wool fabric waste, and Pd2+ ions. To develop a functional material with a significant adsorption capability, the waste wool was subjected to the chemical reduction process, and the keratin-SH (KerSH) particles were extracted in powder form. These particles were used in the adsorption of Pd2+ ions by monitoring with the UV-vis spectra. The dispersion of the KerSH-Pd2+ particles was subsequently drop-casted onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and electrochemically reduced to the GCE/KerSH-PdNPs composite by chronoamperometry at -0.4 V for 500 s. It was found that the KerSH particles were self-assembled by revealing chemically attractive NH2 groups after the electrochemical PdNPs deposition. A GCE/KerSH-PdNPs composite was then employed in the electrochemical dsDNA detection by Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV), using the oxidation signals of guanine and adenine bases at 0.8 V and 1.2 V, respectively. Accordingly, relatively stable, repeatable, and reproducible dsDNA adsorption was ensured through the positively charged-NH2 groups of KerSH-PdNPs. This finding reveals the potential of textile waste for various electrochemical applications, such as DNA biosensors for environmental, pharmaceutical, and medicinal fields.

Immobilization of keratinase on chitosan grafted-ß-cyclodextrin for the improvement of the enzyme properties and application of free keratinase in the textile industry.

Immobilization of enzymes is an effective and potential technique for improving the enzyme characteristics and plays an important role in reducing the final cost of enzymatic reactions. However, the method of enzyme immobilization should be easy, cost-effective and environment friendly when applicable at industrial scale. In present study, the successful biochemical characterization of free and immobilized keratinase was evaluated. The enzyme was effectively immobilized on chitosan and chitosan grafted-ß-cyclodextrin beads. Enzyme yield of immobilized biocatalyst on chitosan alone and chitosan-ß-CD-E was determined to be 90 and 93% respectively. Keratinase was able to act in highly alkaline conditions (optimum pH 11) both in free and immobilized form and showed maximum enzyme activity at 70 and 75 °C respectively. The free and immobilized enzyme exhibited remarkable thermo stability at 70 °C implying that it is capable for its usage in textile industry. The storage stability and reusability of the immobilized keratinase (chitosan-E and chitosan-ß-CD-E) was significantly enhanced, with 25 and 53.5% activity, respectively, retained at 4 °C after 30 days of storage. In the preliminary experiments it was found that free keratinase have the potential to improve the quality of woollen fabrics and suitable for application in textile industries.

Rheological properties of carboxymethyl hydroxypropyl cellulose and its application in high quality reactive dye inkjet printing on wool fabrics.

In this paper, the effect of rheological properties of pretreatment solutions, using carboxymethyl hydroxypropyl cellulose (CMHPC), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium alginate (SA) as thickeners, on inkjet printing performance of wool with reactive dye inks was examined. Rheological, FESEM, and thickness results showed that fabrics treated with CMHPC solution, which exhibited superior fluidity, dominant elasticity property, and the largest zero-shear viscosity, produced the most continuous films and the lowest fabric thickness. Optical microscopy and XPS analyses confirmed that when compared with SA and CMC treated fabrics, CMHPC treated fabric controlled the excessive spread and penetration of ink droplets at higher effectiveness and produced the highest color strength (K/S value) and sharpest edge. In contrast to this, SA solution exhibited the worst fluidity, the most obvious viscous behavior, and lowest zero-shear viscosity. This resulted in the most discontinuous film, highest fabric thickness, and worst printing performance. Furthermore, wettability analysis demonstrated that the film structure dependent on the rheological property was the main factor that affected the inkjet printing performance of wool fabrics. CMHPC treatment of wool fabric provides an environment-friendly method with lower CMHPC concentration, less urea consumption, and shorter steaming time for higher K/S value.

Moisture-Resilient Graphene-Dyed Wool Fabric for Strain Sensing.

E-textile consisting of natural fabrics has become a promising material to construct wearable sensors due to its comfortability and breathability on the human body. However, the reported fabric-based e-textile materials, such as graphene-treated cotton, silk, and flax, generally suffer from the electrical and mechanical instability in long-term wearing. In particular, fabrics on the human body have to endure heat variation, moisture evaporation from metabolic activities, and even the immersion with body sweat. To face the above challenges, here we report a wool-knitted fabric sensor treated with graphene oxide (GO) dyeing followed by l-ascorbic acid (l-AA) reduction (rGO). This rGO-based strain sensor is highly stretchable, washable, and durable with rapid sensing response. It exhibits excellent linearity with more than 20% elongation and, most importantly, withstand moisture from 30 to 90% (or even immersed with water) and still maintains good electrical and mechanical properties. We further demonstrate that, by integrating this proposed material with the near-field communication (NFC) system, a batteryless, wireless wearable body movement sensor can be constructed. This material can find wide use in smart garment applications.

Protease and sodium alginate combined treatment of wool fabric for enhancing inkjet printing performance of reactive dyes.

Usually, it is difficult to achieve high performance images on original wool fabrics due to the presence of scales on the fiber surfaces. Herein, we developed a novel and environmental combined process with a protease enzyme and sodium alginate for wool fabric inkjet printing using reactive dyes. The results indicate that the protease and SA combined treatment of wool fabrics produced high color performance of printed fabrics with the deepest, brightest and finest color effect. FESEM, XPS and wettability analysis reveal that most of the wool scales were eliminated by the protease and the SA formed uniform and compact films on the newly created fiber surfaces with more hydrophilicity of 70.1° contact angle and 3.5 s wetting time. The protease-SA treated wool fabrics exhibit satisfactory washing and rubbing fastness and acceptable strengths. This process has the advantages of zero AOX emission, low strength loss and satisfactory color fastness.

Research on micro-damage behavior of wool fabrics drying in domestic dryer.

To evaluate the performance degradation of fabric drying in domestic air-vented dryer, the appearance, mechanical, and microscopic properties of the wool fabric after different drying cycles were studied. Pilling and dimensional stability tests were performed according to established international standards. Microscopic studies were carried out by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray (XRD). The results show that pilling is the dominant damage mechanism and gradually increased during lower number of drying cycles (0-10 cycles). The results of dimensional stability showed that the highest dimensional shrinkage of knit wool fabric was first five drying cycles, and then increased at a relatively slow rate with the increase in drying cycles. And fabric shrinkage takes place mainly in the warp direction. The SEM images of wool fiber showed that the scales on the fiber surface were intact in the first 15 drying cycles but start to flake after 20 drying cycles. In the drying process, fabrics can suffer several fractures such as cut fracture, split fracture, partial fracture and distortion and even scale flaking and interior structural distortion of fiber. The damages occur quite randomly, but complexity and severity of damages increased with increase in drying cycles. XRD analysis showed that drying had little effect on fiber crystallinity, indicating that drying only leads to changes in the physical properties of wool fabrics instead of changes in the chemical composition of the fiber. And found SEM analysis is not only an effective method to characterize the change in the surface morphology of the fibers resulting from the drying treatments, but also explain the cause of fabric performance degradation such as pilling and strength reduction during drying.

In-situ sonosynthesis of nano N-doped ZnO on wool producing fabric with photo and bio activities, cell viability and enhanced mechanical properties.

Here, a simple processing route is introduced for preparation of N-doped nano structure ZnO at 75-80°C using in-situ sonosynthesis method through hydrolysis of zinc acetate at pH≈9-10 adjusting with ammonia. Synthesis and fabrication of nano N-doped ZnO were carried out on the wool fabric through impregnation of the fabric in ultrasound bath using different concentrations of zinc acetate followed by curing. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the treated fabrics were assessed against two common pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and the diploid fungus namely Candida albicans. The photo-catalytic activity of nano N-doped ZnO particles on the wool fabric was determined by degradation of Methylene Blue under daylight irradiation. Increasing zinc acetate and prolonged sonication time led to higher photo-catalytic activity as more dye stain degraded from the stained treated fabric under daylight. Higher photo-catalytic activity was observed on the nano N-doped ZnO sonotreated wool fabric having more hydrophilicity. Finally, the treatment indicated no negative effect on the fabric safety while reduced alkaline solubility and yellowness even enhanced the fabric tensile strength. The response surface methodology was also utilized to optimize the wool fabric treatment conditions.