Keratin from wool is a reactive, biocompatible, and biodegradable material. As the biological structural component of skin (soft keratins) and of nails, claws, hair, horn, feathers, and scales (hard keratins) pure keratin comprises up to 90% by weight of wool. Wool was treated in alkaline solutions to extract from 68% to 82% keratin within 2 to 5 hours of exposure at 65 ∘ C. The keratin products were water‐soluble and were confirmed to contain intermediate filament and microfibrillar component‐proteins of fractured, residual cuticle, and cortical cells. Oxidation of wool by peroxycarboximidic acid in alkaline hydrogen peroxide produced keratin products with distinct microcrystalline structures: descaled fibers, fibrous matrices, and lyophilized powders. Morphology and confirmation of peptide functionality were documented by SEM, Amino Acid Analysis, SDS‐PAGE gel electrophoresis, MALDI‐TOF/TOF, and FTIR analyses. The reactivity of keratin from wool models the reactivity of keratin from low‐value sources such as cattle hair.
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Cardamone et al. (2009) studied this question.