Abstract
Wool that had been oxidized with peracetic acid was fractionated into four components by continuous extraction with 5 M-urea solutions of increasing pH. The main component, which comprises 36% of the weight of the wool, has an amino acid composition similar to that of wool. The other components have compositions unlike those of wool components reported previously. An explanation of the formation of the components is given in terms of the peptide-bond fission that occurs during the oxidation of wool with peracetic acid.
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