Abstract
WOOL fibres consist mainly of long cortical cells filled with microfibrils, 7–8 nm diameter, embedded in a matrix. The microfibrils are composed of proteins with a lower sulphur content and a higher α-helix content than wool; the matrix proteins have a higher sulphur content than wool and no α helix1,2. When reduced and carboxymethylated low-sulphur proteins from wool (SCMKA) are separated by starch gel electrophoresis, there are two main bands, component 7 (molecular weight 46,000) and component 8 (molecular weight 51,000)3,4, and it has been suggested that the microfibrils are composed of regularly arranged macromolecules (molecular weight 143,000) consisting of two component 7 molecules and one component 8 molecule5.
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LOTAY, S., SPEAKMAN, P. Three-chain merokeratin from wool may be a fragment of the microfibril component macromolecule. Nature 265, 274–276 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/265274a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/265274a0
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