Effect of cross-linked agents on keratin films property

Abstract

This research was aimed to investigate the effect of cross-linked agents on the properties of keratin films. The films were prepared by mixing all solutions until homogeneous before pouring into polystyrene plates and dried in an oven at 40 oC for 3 days. The obtained films were characterized for their morphology and secondary structure using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer. The native keratin film had smooth surfaces with slight fragile throughout the film area. Considering among the cross-linked agent, the keratin film cross-linked with glutaraldehyde had the smoothest surfaces than others. In addition, the differences of cross-linked agents were affected on different morphology of the films. The secondary structure analysis found that random coil structures of films had been changed into β-sheet after blending with cross-linked agent. This reflected to increase of dense texture, strength and thermal stability of the films. The results could be suggested that the morphology, secondary structure and thermal stability of the keratin films were depended on content and type of cross-linked agents used.