PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Keratin is a structural fibrous protein and the core constituent of animal by-products from livestock such as wool, feathers, hooves, horns, and pig bristles. This natural polymer is also the main component of human hair and is present at an important percentage in human and animal skin. Significant amounts of keratin-rich animal tissues are discarded worldwide each year, ca. 12 M tons, and the share used for keratin extraction and added-value applications is still very low. An important stream of new potential raw materials, represented by animal by-products and human hair, is thus being lost, while a large-scale valorization could contribute to a circular bioeconomy and to the reduction in the environmental fingerprint of those tissues. Fortunately, scientific research has made much important progress in the last 10-15 years in the better understanding of the complex keratin architecture and its variability among different animal tissues, in the development of tailored extraction processes, and in the screening of new potential applications. Hence, this review aims at a discussion of the recent findings in the characterization of keratin and keratin-rich animal by-product structures, as well as in keratin recovery by conventional and emerging techniques and advances in valorization in several fields.
摘要：
角蛋白是一种结构纤维状蛋白，是羊毛等家畜副产品的核心成分，羽毛,蹄子,角,还有猪毛.这种天然聚合物也是人类头发的主要成分，在人类和动物皮肤中占有重要的比例。每年全世界都有大量富含角蛋白的动物组织被丢弃，CA.12公吨,用于角蛋白提取和增值应用的份额仍然很低。新的潜在原材料的重要来源，以动物副产品和人类毛发为代表，因此迷失了，而大规模的增值可能有助于循环生物经济和减少这些组织的环境指纹。幸运的是,在过去的10-15年中，科学研究在更好地理解复杂的角蛋白结构及其在不同动物组织之间的变异性方面取得了重要进展，在定制提取工艺的开发中，并筛选新的潜在应用。因此，这篇综述旨在讨论角蛋白和富含角蛋白的动物副产品结构表征的最新发现，以及通过传统和新兴技术回收角蛋白，以及在几个领域的价值进步。
