Enzyme-based textile coloration

Textile coloration is typically characterised as a resource intensive production process that requires the use of large amounts of water, high concentrations of processing chemicals, high temperatures and long processing times, commonly resulting in high energy consumption and effluent waste. Consequently, this has led to rethinking approaches to textile coloration. The research presented gives an overview of current studies that investigated the use of two specific oxidoreductase enzymes, laccase (EC 1.10.3.2) and peroxidase (EC1.11.1.7) to develop a one-step coloration process. Both enzymes are capable of polymerising simple aromatic compounds to form colorants with the potential for textile coloration through the formation of conjugated chromophores via their distinctive catalytic oxidation and coupling/polymerization mechanism. A diverse gamut of hues were achieved on a range of different fibre types (flax, wool and nylon) through enzymatic catalysis of various aromatic compounds as laccase or peroxidase substrates or precursors and alteration of processing parameters such as buffer systems, pH values and reaction times. Enzymatically dyed fabrics were tested against commercial standards, resulting in reasonably good colour fastness to wash. The research demonstrates the potential offered by laccase and peroxidase as transformative tools to replace conventional industrial coloration and surface pattern design processes with biological systems, which offer important advantages of simpler processing using milder conditions that eliminate additional chemical use and reduce energy consumption. The adoption of enzyme-based biotechnologies could help the textile coloration industry transition towards a sustainable future.