Merino wool was blank-dyed in citric acid-phosphate buffer at pH 2.0, 4.5, and 8.0, at the boil, for periods of up to five hours. The treatment dissolved significant quantities of protein material from the wool and altered the fiber cuticle surface. Scanning electron microscope studies showed that modification of the cuticle cell surface occurred at all pH's, with the most severe disruption of the surface being at pH 2.
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