Potential use of cutinase in enzymatic scouring of cotton fiber cuticle

The present study characterized the ability of a bacterial cutinase to improve the wettability of raw cotton fabrics by specific hydrolysis of the cutin structure of the cuticle. The effect of cutinase was studied alone and in coreaction with pectin lyase. The changes in both the fabric and the reaction fluid were measured and compared to enzymatic hydrolysis with polygalacturonase, and to chemical hydrolysis with boiling NaOH. Water absorbancy, specific staining, fabric weight loss, and evaporative light-scattering reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of chloroform extract of the reaction fluid were measured to assess the enzymatic hydrolysis of the cuticle waxy layer. The pattern and extent of hydrolysis of the major cuticle constituents depended on the enzyme type and titers employed and paralleled the degree of wettability obtained. The combination of cutinase and pectin lyase resulted in a synergistic effect. The use of detergents improved enzymatic scouring. The major products released to the reaction medium by the cutinase treatment were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis as C: 16 and C: 18 saturated fatty acid chains.