Abstract
Keratin has been gaining wider acceptance as an efficient biomaterial for application in various sectors. The extraction and degradation process of keratin is the primary and significant aspect of keratin utilization as a biomaterial. This review comprises sustainable degradation of keratin via microbes, fungi, and green solvents, followed by sustainable extraction of keratin, and lastly, the applications of keratin in several areas have been discussed. RCS6 a yeast strain, Fusarium species 1A, Bacillus species 8A6, B. subtilis 8 are the microbes, while NMMO a sustainable solvent are discussed for degradation of keratin. Further, Green phenomenon to extract keratin proteins are with liquid deep-eutectic solvent (urea-sodium acetate), keratin regeneration via sustainable solvent composed of L-cysteine and lactic acid, sustainable medium of the hydrated ionic solution to extract keratin, efficient extraction of keratin via choline chloride and oxalic acid, and keratin extraction via novel ultrafiltration process is mentioned as sustainable keratin extraction processes. Lastly, the possible and potential applications of keratin in areas of bioplastics, cosmetics, tissue engineering, drug release, wound healing, and other industries have been discussed.
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Athwal, S., Sharma, S., Gupta, S., Nadda, A.K., Gupta, A., Husain, M.S.B. (2022). Sustainable Biodegradation and Extraction of Keratin with Its Applications. In: Thomas, S., AR, A., Jose Chirayil, C., Thomas, B. (eds) Handbook of Biopolymers . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6603-2_27-1
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