Feathers, which contain >90% keratin, are valuable natural protein resources. The aim of this study is to prepare antimicrobial feather keratin (FK)-based nanofibers by incorporating silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). A series of AgNPs-embedded feather keratin/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(ethylene oxide) (FK/PVA/PEO) composite nanofibers with varying amounts of AgNPs content were fabricated by electrospinning. Their morphology, crystallinity, thermal stability, tensile property, and antibacterial activity were systematically investigated. The average diameters of composite nanofibers gradually decreased with increases in the amount of AgNPs. The crystallinity, thermal stability, and antibacterial activity of FK/PVA/PEO nanofibers were enhanced by embedding AgNPs. When embedded with 1.2% AgNPs, both the tensile strength and elongation-at-break reached the highest level. This work has the potential to expand the application of FK-based nanofibers in the biomaterial field.

The use of waste plant protein obtained from underutilized and non-food-producing plants may be a promising strategy in the development of bioactive packaging. A series of blend films were prepared by casting from cottonseed protein (CP) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and modified with different plasticizers. The morphology, structure, and crystallinity of each of the blend films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. CP and PVA were found to be compatible in the appropriate ratios, and the CP/PVA blend films were partially crystalline. We compared the effects that four plasticizers, i.e., glycerol, triethanolamine (TEA), ethylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol, had on the performance of the CP/PVA blend films. Plasticizers altered the degree of interaction between CP and PVA, which changed the secondary structure of the CP but had little effect on the crystallinity of CP/PVA blend films. Among the different plasticizers tested, TEA was the most efficient at improving the elongation at the break, tensile strength, and oxygen barrier properties of the CP/PVA blend films. Such CP/PVA blend films plasticized using TEA can, therefore, be considered emerging and promising plastics for potential applications in food packaging and flower planting applications.

Herein, we demonstrate a three-component FK/PVA/PEO nanofiber membrane by electrospinning and vapor-assisted crosslinking. We have used feather-derived-keratin (FK), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) as membrane components and citric acid/glyoxal as the crosslinker. The structural, thermal, hydrophobicity, and mechanical properties of the as-prepared and crosslinked FK/PVA/PEO nanofiber membranes have been systematically investigated. The results suggest that the nanofiber membrane’s vapor-assisted crosslinking by citric acid has shown better performances than that of glyoxal used as a crosslinker. These results exhibit that non-toxic citric acid can be used as a crosslinking agent to modify the performance of keratin-based membranes. This study opens up further avenues for post-synthesis modification of polymeric membranes for a wide range of applications.