Extraction and Characterization of Keratin and Keratin Hydrogels from Wasted Rabbit Hair

Abstract

Fabrication and characterization of keratin hydrogel extracted from waste rabbit hair with the application of L-cysteine as reducing agent, using heating-And-cooling method at different pH and heating temperature, are the mainly focus of this study. The structural, morphological and chemical characteristic of different keratin samples-were compared. It is concluded that the recovery rate of keratin of waste rabbit hair had reached 61%, and the hydrogel was fabricated in the condition that the concentration of keratin powder was above 125mg/ml and the temperature was above 55 °C. Furthermore, rabbit hair keratin hydrogel could be potential applied in a diverse range of food, feed and wound dressing fields.