A fungal enzyme helps hibiscus dye hold on viscose fabric
A single peer-reviewed laboratory study tested a fungal enzyme with hibiscus flower dye on cotton and viscose. Viscose performed best under the tested conditions when dye exceeded enzyme by two to one. The work explores an alternative to conventional dye fixatives, while production costs, enzyme stability and reuse still need investigation before the process can move to industrial scale.
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Viscose responds to the dye-enzyme mixture
A single peer-reviewed Scientific Reports experiment tested whether laccase, a fungal enzyme that acts on compounds in natural dyes, could help hibiscus color stay on fabric. Hala R. Wehaidy and colleagues compared cotton and viscose using dye extracted from flowers with water. Among the conditions they examined, viscose gave the best color performance with two parts dye to one part enzyme. The work investigated an alternative to conventional dye fixatives.[1]
A wood fungus supplies the enzyme
The team screened ten fungal isolates collected from soil, decomposing wood and agricultural residues. The chosen wood isolate was identified as Trichoderma viride lac418 from a sequenced genetic region. The authors note that additional markers would strengthen that identification. Cultures grew for ten days at 30 °C. After partial purification with acetone, the selected enzyme fraction showed its highest activity at 60 °C and pH 5.0.[1]
Printed samples face washing and rubbing
Printing mixtures used sodium alginate to control thickness. Fabric samples spent four hours at 60 °C before rinsing and drying. Reflected light provided a measure of color strength, while separate tests checked how color resisted washing, rubbing, perspiration and light. Measurements were made in triplicate. Computational comparisons also examined plant compounds’ possible binding to the enzyme. Industrial use still requires work on production costs, processing stability and recovering the enzyme for reuse.[1]
