Reverse engineering of wool fibre into its constituent components as functional additives to form wool based structures

The complex hierarchical structure of the wool fibre, both in terms of chemical and physical morphology, offer various components with differing, yet desirable properties. This study showed how the wool fibre can be systematically reverse engineered into its constituent components, with minimal to no chemical or physical change to the desired component. Through a combination of targeted chemical and mechanical attack, the cuticle scales where separated from the cortex. The cortex was then broken down into the cortical cells, through mechanical agitation. Moreover, the breakdown of the cortical cells can be achieved through an enzymatic action, producing macrofibrils. The subcomponents were then utilised to form wool-keratin structures, using a keratin extract as the matrix. Control of the placement of the components can alter the properties of the final product.