The Chemical Composition of Wool

Abstract

Orthocortical cells, produced from Merino wool by ultrasonication in formic acid, are digested with α-chymotrypsin to produce fibrous material (in low yield) of the diameter of microfibrils and microfibrillar aggregates. These are sepa rated from other material by a centrifugation procedure. The amino acid analysis of the microfibrils and microfibrillar aggregates is much closer to that of orthocortical cells than to the low-sulphur proteins obtained from wool. It is likely that microfibrils do not consist solely of low-sulphur protein.