Natural fibers, well known as environmentally friendly materials, have the advantages of low density, low cost, and biodegradability. However, a considerable amount of these fibers has been wasted during industrial processes all over the world. Protein wastes such as by-products from agricultural sources, wool textile industry, poor-quality raw wool not fit for spinning, and hairs and feathers from butchery constitute an important renewable source of biopolymers. Recycling of these very accessible and cheap protein sources and developing a method for extracting keratin from such wastes have been the objectives of many studies due to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. We developed keratin-based materials in different forms (nanoparticles, solution, sponge, film, mat) from chicken feather waste which could be used in different applications such as cosmetics, biodegradable polymer composites, compostable packaging, medical membrane/fibers, biomedical scaffolds, agricultural films and coatings.
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Patents:
Eslahi, N., Dadashian, F., & Hemmati Nejad, N., Method for synthesizing protein nanoparticles using waste chicken feathers, US Patent 9,695,455, 2017.
Sadeghi, S., Eslahi, N., & Dadashian, F. Production of porous absorbent sponge from recycled feather keratin, Iran patent 97401, 2018.
Moshggoo, Sh., Khalili Azar, Sh., Eslahi, N., Dadashian, F., & Hemmati Nejad, N. Surface modification of wool fabric using recycled feather protein, Iran patent 81839, 2014.
Eslahi, N., Dadashian, F., & Hemmati Nejad, N. Production of nanoparticles from waste wool fibers, Iran patent 79085, 2013.
Eslahi, N., Dadashian, F., & Hemmati Nejad, N. Production of nanoparticles from chicken feathers, Iran patent 79086, 2013.