Abstract
PEACOCK1 has examined the X-ray diffraction patterns from Lincoln wool supercontracted by oxidation in peracetic acid. An observation made by Whiteley2 using Alexander's3 peracetic acid–ammonia technique to separate the protein components in wool4 was that, following Supercontraction in peracetic acid, the fibres increase in length when the α- and γ-keratoses are dissolved out by the ammonia solution. Mercer found it possible to prepare a birefringent fibre from the protein extracted from wool by urea-reducer solutions which showed dimensional changes as the pH was altered5.
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References
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PAUTARD, F., SPEAKMAN, P. Reversible Supercontraction of β-Keratose. Nature 185, 176–177 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/185176a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/185176a0
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