Quality Improvement of Wool and Silk Treated with the Actinidin Protease Extracted from Kiwifruit

In this study, a kiwifruit-produced protease was used to improve the quality of the wool and silk fabrics. The wool and silk were treated with the actinidin from kiwifruit. Following this protease treatment, changes in the surface of a single yarn of the fabrics were observed via both an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In order to determine the amount of dye uptake in the fabric, changes in the K/S value of the wool and silk were measured by spectrophotometric analysis. Also, we performed a tensile strength examination to determine variation in their mechanical properties. By increasing the protease treatment time to 48h, the dyeing properties of fabrics were enhanced, and the surfaces of the single yarns of the fabrics became smoother, because of the removal of soil and scale in them. However, no mechanical changes were detected in the fabrics. Thereby, we suggest that the kiwifruit-produced actinidin treatment can improve the quality of the fabrics.