Page 117 - Advances in Textile Biotechnology

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Enzymatic modifi cation of polyacrylonitrile and
cellulose acetate fi bres for textile and
other applications

T. MATAMÁ and A. CAVACO-PAULO,
University of Minho, Portugal

Abstract: The enzymatic reactions that lead to the creation of
hydrophilic groups at the surface of polyacrylonitrile and cellulose
acetate are reviewed and the main advantages and drawbacks are briefl y
discussed. New materials with distinct surface properties can be achieved
using eco-friendly catalysts that preserve the desirable bulk properties of
polyacrylonitrile and cellulose acetate.

Key words: biomodification, polymer side chains, biotechnology,
polyacrylonitrile, nitrilase, acetyl esterase, cellulose acetate.

5.1 Introduction

In the textile industry, the impact of biotechnology has been observed at
three main levels: the introduction of enzymes in manufacturing wet pro-
cesses and laundry detergents, the design of new and biodegradable fi bres
and the treatment of textile effl uents.
Biocatalysis is present in some of the oldest transformations known to
humans: descriptions of various beer recipes were found in Sumerian writ-
ings (Ball, 2001). Studies on fermentation processes led to a ‘big bang’ in
the knowledge of life’s chemistry. In the 19th century, Louis Pasteur came
to the conclusion that the fermentation of sugar to alcohol by yeast was
catalyzed by a vital force contained within the yeast cells called ‘ferments’,
which were thought to function only within living organisms. Wilhelm

Kühne was the first to use the term ‘enzyme’ and, years later, Emil Fisher
proposed the ‘Lock and Key Model’ to visualize the substrate and enzyme
interaction (Cabral et al., 2003).
Enzymes are the subgroup of proteins that catalyse the chemistry of life,
transforming both macromolecules and small molecules; they are the focus
of current biocatalysis research (Walsh, 2001). The chiral nature of enzymes
results in a remarkable chemical precision seen as different types of selec-
tivity, even in the absence of functional-group protection (Rozzell, 1999;

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