Surface Modification of Cellulose Acetate with Cutinase and ...

3. Role of enzymes in textile industry
General Introduction: Application of Enzymes for Textile Fibres Processing
Textile processing has benefited greatly on both environmental and product quality
aspects through the use of enzymes. From the 7000 enzymes known, only about 75 are
commonly used in textile industry processes (Quandt and Kuhl, 2001).
The principal enzymes applied in textile industry are hydrolases and oxidoreductases.
The group of hydrolases includes amylases, celulases, proteases, pectinases and
lipases/esterases. Amylases were the only enzymes applied in textile processing until
the 1980’s. These enzymes are still used to remove starch-based sizes from fabrics after
weaving. Cellulases have been employed to enzymatically remove fibrils and fuzz
fibres and have also successfully been introduced to the cotton textile industry and later
for lyocell processes. Further applications have been found for these enzymes to
produce the aged look of denim and other garments. The potential of proteolytic
enzymes was assessed for the removal of wool-fibre-scales resulting in improved antifelting
behaviour. Despite the fact that investigations in this area are still on going, an
industrial process has not yet been achieved. Esterases have been successfully studied
for the partial hydrolysis of synthetic fibres surface, improving their hydrophilicity and
further finishing steps. Besides hydrolytic enzymes, oxidoreductases have also been
realized as powerful tools in various textile-processing steps. Catalases have been used
to remove H2O2 after bleaching reducing in this way water consumption. A recent book
edited by Wolfgang Aehle (2007), contains an excellent chapter dealing with enzyme
technology application in the textile processing industry. A more detailed description of
both the most common group of enzymes applied in textile industry and the processes
where they are applied will be given in this review.
4. Amylases
Amylases are enzymes which hydrolyse starch molecules to give diverse products
including dextrins and progressively smaller polymers composed of glucose units
(Windish and Mhatre, 1965). This starch hydrolysing enzymes are classified according
to the type of sugars produced by enzymatic reaction: α-amylases and β-amylases. α-
Amylases are produced by a variety fungi, yeasts and bacteria, however enzymes from
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