Enhancement Ultraviolet Protective Properties of Cotton Fabric Applied Nano Keratin

Ultraviolet radiation from sun can cause sunburn, sun tanning, skin aging, skin cancer and cataracts. Trends of global warming and lifestyle highlight the ultraviolet protective needs in human daily life. Cotton fabric is very popular due to its natural comfort attributes. However, its ultraviolet protective performance is weak because of cellulose molecular structure. Here, we report a study on enhancement of ultraviolet protective performance of cotton fabric using nano keratin materials, which was obtained from natural wool fibers. Ultraviolet protective performance of cotton fabrics increased significantly as UPF value of cotton fabric increased from 13.0 +/- 0.5 to 66.4 +/- 5.6, transitivity of UVA decreased from 7.1 +/- 0.5% to 4.7 +/- 0.3%, transmittivity of UVB decreased from 6.7 +/- 0.3% to 1.1 +/- 0.1%. Application of such natural biofunctional keratin materials to cotton fabrics can protect human body from ultraviolet radiation, especially from ultraviolet B radiation during wear.