Enzymatic modification of polylactic acid fibers is investigated using various kinds of protease and lipase. The effects of enzymes on the hydrolysis of polylactic acid fibers is evaluated by means of fiber weight loss, fiber strength and fiber surface observation. It is found that proteases derived from Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis had remarkable activities on polylactic acid fibers. It is also observed that the hydrolysis of polylactic acid fibers with these enzymes causes a serious drop in fiber strength, although fiber weight loss is lower.
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2.
Ishida, R., Oiwa, H., Honda, K., Imamura, K., Nonaka, T., and Sudo, K., Evaluation of Sternal Deformity after Pediatric Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, Kyobu Geka, 57, 111—114 ( 2004).
3.
Stock, U.A., and Mayer, J.E. Jr, Tissue Engineering of Cardiac Valves on the Basis of PGA/PLA Co-polymers, J. Long Term Eff. Med. Implants,11, 249—260 (2001).
4.
Cronin, E.M. , Thurmond, F.A., Bassel-Duby, R., Williams, R. S., Wright, W. E., Nelson, K. D., and Garner, H. R., Protein-coated Poly(L-lactic acid) Fibers Provide a Substrate for Differentiation of Human Skeletal Muscle Cells , J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 3, 373—381 ( 2004).
5.
Durden, D.K. , Etters, J.N., Sarkar, A.K., Henderson, L.A., and Hill, J.E., Advances in Commercial Biopreparation of Cotton with Alkaline Pectinase, AATCC Review,1, 28—31 (2001).
6.
Levy, O., Bio-preparation—A New Approach in Cotton Scouring, International Dyer, 191, 11—12 (2006 ).
7.
Nakano, S., Hirase, R., Komurasaki, K., Salmawy, A., Kunugi, S., and Kimura, Y., An Universal Stoichiometric Relationship between Weight Loss and Glucose Formation in the Enzymatic Treatment of Cellulosic Fibers with Cellulase from Filamentous Fungi, Sen'i Gakkaishi, 57, 279—284 ( 2001).
8.
Erlacher, A. , Sousa F., Schroeder M., Guebitz, G.M., Jus , S., Kokol, V., and Cavaco, P.A., A New Cuticle Scale Hydrolysing Protease from Beauveria brongniartii, Biotechnol. Lett., 28, 703—710 ( 2006).
9.
Nechwatal, A. , Nicolai, M., Krieg, M., Kolbe, A., Blokesch, A., Wolf, M., and Gerhardt, M., A Contribution to the Investigation of Enzyme-catalyzed Hydrolysis of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Oligomers, Macromol. Mater. Eng., 291, 1486— 1494 (2006).
10.
Sawada, K., and Ueda, M., Enzyme Processing of Wool Fiber in Non-ionic Surfactant Reverse Micellar System , J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 79, 369—375 (2004).
11.
Sawada, K., Tokino, S., and Ueda, M., Bioscouring of Cotton with Pectinase Enzyme in a Non-aqueous System, J. Soc. Dyers Color., 114, 355—359 ( 1998).
12.
Sawada, K., and Ueda, M., Effect of Protease Activity on a Non-aqueous Detergent System, Textil. Res. J., 70, 166—171 (2000).
13.
Yoon, M.Y., Kellis, J., and Poulose, A.J., Enzymatic Modification of Polyester, AATCC Review,2, 33—36 (2002).
14.
Waddell, R.B. , Bioscouring of Cotton in Commercial Applications of Alkaline Stable Pectinase, AATCC Review,2, 28—30 (2002).
15.
Oda, Y. , Yonetsu, A., Urakami, T., and Tonomura, K., Degradation of Polylactide by Commercial Proteases, J. PolymerEnviron., 8, 29—32 (2000).
16.
Sugai, J., Joko, K., Hayashi T., and Arai M., Hydrolysis of Cotton Yarns by Cellulase Chemically Modified with Water Soluble Polymer, Sen'i Gakkaishi, 58, 466—472 (2002).
