A study of the influence of structure on the effectiveness of chitosan as an anti-felting treatment for wool.
The effect of chitosan on the resistance of wool fabric to felting on washing has been studied using nine structurally different samples of chitosan. Structural differences examined include molecular weight, level of N-acetylation, and the nature and concentration of homologous N-acyl groups. No strong dependency of shrinkage on molecular weight or level of N-acetylation has been found, but increasing the hydrophobic character of chitosan through the incorporation of a number of long-chain N-acyl groups gives improved anti-felting behaviour, compared to chitosan itself, at the same level of add-on.
Roberts
G A
GA
Design of Materials Group, Department of Fashion and Textiles, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, NG1 4BU, Nottingham, UK. george.roberts@ntu.ac.uk
Wood
F A
FA
D000107:Acetylation; D000215:Acylation; D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D048271:Chitosan; D015394:Molecular Structure; D008970:Molecular Weight; D014935:Wool / Q000737:chemistry*
D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan