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A large amount of wool produced in the European region is coarse and of low quality. The limited or nonutilization of such coarse wool leads to landfilling causing environmental pollution. The chemical transformation of wool carried out was based on a green economically sustainable hydrolysis treatment using superheated water. The hydrolyzed product was analyzed using amino acid analysis and molecular weight distribution. Both the amino acid and molecular weight distribution analysis revealed that the wool was completely degraded and the hydrolyzed product contains a low molecular weight proteins and amino acids. Then, we studied the properties of this keratin hydrolyzate, to be used as a foaming agent in foam dyeing of cotton and wool fabrics. We report the use of keratin hydrolyzate as a foaming auxiliary in the textile dyeing process. The surface tension, foam stability, blow ratio, and bubble size of keratin hydrolyzate in aqueous solutions with and without dyeing auxiliaries were determined. The dyeing influential parameter such as wet pickup was studied to identify their effect on dye fixation and color strength. The foam dyeing was compared with conventional cold-pad batch and pad-steam processes for cotton and wool, respectively. In the investigated variant, keratin hydrolyzate shows a reduction in surface tension, good foam stability along with dyeing auxiliaries, a blow ratio of about 10:1, and 0.02-0.1 mm diameter bubble sizes. These results make possible its application as a foaming agent. Cotton and wool fabrics were dyed using reactive and acid dyes respectively, on a horizontal padding mangle. In both cases, hydrolyzed keratin acts as a carrier for dye molecules and the mechanism of dyeing depends on the respective pH of the dye solution, keratin, and fiber. Foam dyeing of cotton resulted in comparable color strength, while wool shows higher color strength when compared with conventional dyeing processes. Washing and rubbing fastness of cotton and wool foam dyed fabrics are similar to the respective conventional dyed fabrics. The combinations of sustainable keratin hydrolyzate production and its use as an eco-friendly, biodegradable foaming agent in less add on foam dyeing technology resulted not only in saving of large amounts of water and energy but also will be helpful in minimizing a load on effluent and the environment. A new approach of coloration of wool was also tried using wool hydrolysate as a color in a dying bath and different shades were obtained using mordants.

The project integrates diversified expertises in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, biocatalysis, materials, engineering and environmental sciences. The objective is the development of sustainable procedures to recover wool wax and lanolin from waste wool. In parallel, ecofriendly physical, chemical and/or biocatalytic methods are devised to exploit these products, recoverable from an abundant discarded biomass such as waste wool, as a source of fatty acids (FAs) and ?-hydroxy fatty acids (?-HFAs), which are highly-value derivatives of FAs. Lanolin has a high content of both ?-HFAs and FAs esters. Therefore, the aim of the project is to conjugate the production of useful and valuable chemicals with the valorization of a biomass, otherwise to be disposed of. It is to be underlined that waste wool is unavoidably joined to sheep farming and its management costs. Waste wool scouring would become profitable if further valorization of lanolin could be associated to the uses of washed low-quality coarse wools. Preliminary results of waste wool treatment and of FAs and ?-HFAs obtainment are presented.

Sheep's wool was used as a natural source to prepare keratin microfibril sponges for scaffolding, by disruption of the histological structure of the fibres through mild alkali treatment, followed by ultrasonication, casting and salt-leaching. The wool sponges showed highly interconnected porosity (93%) and contain intrinsic sites of cellular recognition that mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). They displayed good thermal and water stability due to the conversion of disulphide cystine bonds into shorter monosulphide lanthionine intermolecular bonds, but significantly swelled in water, because of the high hydrophilicity and porosity, with a volume increasing up to 38%. Nevertheless, sponges were stable in water without structural changes, with a neutral pH in aqueous media, and showed excellent resilience to repeated compression stresses. According to in vitro biocompatibility assays, wool fibril sponges showed a good cell adhesion and proliferation as proved by MTT, FDA assays and SEM observations. The unique structure of the cortical cell network made by wool keratin proteins with controlled-size macro-porosity suitable for cell guesting, and nutrient feeding, provides an excellent scaffold for future tissue engineering applications.

Microplastics represent a new and very alarming source of pollution for marine environment. Classified as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, they mainly derive from the deterioration of scraps of large dimensions, from abrasives or from cosmetics. However, in 2011, another source was identified in the domestic and industrial washing processes of synthetic clothes. The real impact of this newly discovered source of microplastics is not clear yet, so quantitative investigations are highly necessary. For this purpose, the present work aims to assess the role of domestic and industrial washing processes of synthetic clothes, on the release of microfibres. Firstly, standard fabrics were washed simulating both industrial and domestic washing processes, using different detergents and washing conditions. The washing liquor was then filtered and the filters were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A specific counting method was set up to evaluate the amount of microfibres contained in each filter. Secondly, several finishing treatments were applied on the fabrics to prevent or reduce the amount of microplastics released during the washing process. The obtained results identified the best detergents, washing conditions and treatments to use in order to mitigate the impact of such source of pollutants.

Cellulose micro and nanofibrils were prepared from hemp fibers by means of a chemical/mechanical treatment and ultrasonication in water suspension. A sol-gel treatment with dimethyldiethoxysilane (MSDS) or titanium (IV) isopropoxide as precursors was developed to avoid the issue of the irreversible aggregation of the fibrils after drying (process known as "hornification"), which results in a material that is not suitable for composite applications. Polycaprolactone composites with 5% dried fibrils were compounded using a Mini extruder. The composites reinforced with cellulose fibrils showed an increase of the storage modulus (stiffness of the composite). Loss modulus (E'') also increased substantially with the addition of hemp fibrils. The reaction of silane on the surface of hemp fibrils prevented hornification in some extent, allowing an effective distribution of the cellulose fibrils in the polymer matrix

There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" ? this was the title of the lecture Prof. Richard Feynman delivered at California Institute of Technology on December 29, 1959 at the American Physical Society meeting. He considered the possibility to manipulate matter on an atomic scale. Indeed, the design and controllable synthesis of nanomaterials have attracted much attention because of their distinctive geometries and novel physical and chemical properties. For the last two decades nano-scaled materials in the form of nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanoclays, nanorods, nanodisks, nanoribbons, nanowhiskers etc. have been investigated with increased interest due to their enormous advantages, such as large surface area and active surface sites. Among all nanostructures, nanofibers have attracted tremendous interest in nanotechnology and biomedical engineering owing to the ease of controllable production processes, low pore size and superior mechanical properties for a range of applications in diverse areas such as catalysis, sensors, medicine, pharmacy, drug delivery, tissue engineering, filtration, textile, adhesive, aerospace, capacitors, transistors, battery separators, energy storage, fuel cells, information technology, photonic structures and flat panel displays, just to mention a few. Nanofibers are continuous filaments of generally less than about 1000 nm diameters. Nanofibers of a variety of cellulose and non-cellulose based materials can be produced by a variety of techniques such as phase separation, self assembly, drawing, melt fibrillation, template synthesis, electro-spinning, and solution spinning. They reduce the handling problems mostly associated with the nanoparticles. Nanoparticles can agglomerate and form clusters, whereas nanofibers form a mesh that stays intact even after regeneration. The present book is a result of contributions of experts from international scientific community working in different areas and types of nanofibers. The book thoroughly covers latest topics on different varieties of nanofibers. It provides an up-to-date insightful coverage to the synthesis, characterization, functional properties and potential device applications of nanofibers in specialized areas. We hope that this book will prove to be timely and thought provoking and will serve as a valuable reference for researchers working in different areas of nanofibers. Special thanks goes to the authors for their valuable contributions.