N‐Methylol reagents are conventional crosslinking agents that are still widely used in textile industry to produce crease‐resistant cotton fabrics. In this work serine proteases were used to recover ...the strength of fabrics, cross‐linked with N‐hydroxymethylacrylamide. Nearly one half of the strength loss of crosslinked cotton fabrics could be restored after protease treatment, while the wrinkle recovery angle (WRA) decreased only slightly. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the amide cross‐links in the durable pressed cellulose was confirmed by FT‐IR analysis and dyeability with an acid dye.
Effect of protease concentration on the tensile strength recovery, WRA and acid dye dyeability at 30 min reaction time.
Conventional rinsing to remove residual hydrogen peroxide after the bleaching of cotton fabric can be replaced by enzymatic cleaning using catalases. Our previous study showed that dyeing in such ...catalase‐treated bleaching baths results in a shade change on the dyed fabrics. The aim of this present study was to investigate the reasons for the unacceptable colour differences of the dyed fabrics. Experiments were performed to study the possible temperature‐dependent dye interactions in the standard dyebath, and in the dyebath prepared with bleaching effluent. Fluorescence emission spectra were used to detect changes in the structure of the catalase related to the thermal unfolding and denaturing of the protein. It was found that the colour difference on the dyed textiles could be attributed to the temperature‐dependent dye‐enzyme interaction and precipitation, as well as to the complexity of the bleaching bath composition.
Tannic acid nanoparticles were synthesized from an aqueous solution without the use of stabilizers via a sonochemical process. In order to avoid the dissolution of the formed nanoparticles, the ...sonochemical reaction was performed in the presence of a cotton fabric: following their formation, the tannic acid nanoparticles were embedded into the cotton substrate in a one-step process. The bioactive properties of the tannic acid coated surface were examined towards the inhibition of myeloperoxidase and collagenase, two major enzymes related with inflammatory processes. In addition, the antibacterial activity of the tannic acid nanoparticles coated textiles was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Peer Reviewed
Electronic version of an article published as "Enzyme and microbial technology", 08 Desembre 2009, p. 1-5
Wool fibres have been modified with nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) to improve their ...performance at use. This water insoluble bi-functional phenolic compound has been grafted on wool through a laccase enzyme catalyzed reaction in an aqueous-ethanol mixture. The capacity of laccase to oxidise NDGA in this aqueous-organic medium has been studied electrochemicaly. The increase of CH2, CH3 and aromatic groups signal in the DRIFT spectra, together with SEM images of the enzymatically-modified fabrics confirmed the covalent grafting of NDGA on wool. This one step enzymatic process for grafting of NDGA improved the physical and mechanical properties of wool fabrics such as shrink resistance, crease recovery and tensile strength. Furthermore, the NDGA imparted to the textile material strong antioxidant activity and UV-protection.
Human neutrophil elastase (HNE) and cathepsin G (CatG) are involved in the pathogenesis of a number of inflammatory disorders. These serine proteinases are released by neutrophils and monocytes in ...case of infection. Wound infection is a severe complication regarding wound healing causing diagnostic and therapeutic problems. In this study we have shown the potential of HNE and CatG to be used as markers for early detection of infection. Significant differences in HNE and CatG levels in infected and non-infected wound fluids were observed. Peptide substrates for these two enzymes were successfully immobilised on different surfaces, including collagen, modified collagen, polyamide polyesters and silica gel. HNE and CatG activities were monitored directly in wound fluid via hydrolysis of the chromogenic substrates. Infected wound fluids led to significant higher substrate hydrolysis compared with non-infected ones. These different approaches could be used for the development of devices which are able to detect elevated enzyme activities before manifestation of infection directly on bandages. This would allow a timely intervention by medical doctors thus preventing severe infections.
Peer Reviewed
The percentage of "total" E-rosettes was studied in the peripheral blood of 38 untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, performing the test at 4 degrees C and at 20 degrees ...C. At 4 degrees C the quantity of the E-rosettes was higher than at 20 degrees C. The mean value of E-rosettes was strongly reduced only in 17 of these patients with metastases in the regional lymph nodes when compared with a group of 40 normal individuals as well as with the group of remaining 21 patients with localized cancer (P less than 0.001), whatever the temperature of testing. The mean percentage of 20 degrees C E-rosettes was significantly higher in patients with localized disease than in the 22 normal donors (50.2 +/- 3.0% vs 41.8 +/- 2.0%, P less than 0.01) but in favour of 4 degrees C E-rosettes the difference was not significant (57.3 +/- 2.8% vs 54.2 +/- 2.9%). Thus there was a clear correlation between changes of the T cell level and the clinical stage of the disease.
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