Can sodium silicates affect collagen structure during tanning? Insights from small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies

Abstract

The effect of sodium silicates on collagen structure during leather processing was investigated. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) reveal that the molecular structure and thermal stabilities of the sodium silicate treated leathers (So-Si and So-Si + BCS) were different to the conventionally processed chromium treated leathers (BCS). The collagen fibrils were observed to be coated by aggregates of silica, which did not affect the axial periodicity (D-period) of the collagen molecules. However, an increase in collagen fibril diameter was observed during the main tanning step when sodium silicates were used. This could be due to the swelling of collagen fibers from the high alkaline conditions of sodium silicates. From DSC studies, it was also found that sodium silicate treated samples impart no effect on collagen stabilization in the absence of chromium(III). However, a pseudostabilization effect is observed in the So-Si + BCS samples, possibly due to the inability of the collagen molecules to undergo conformational changes due to the silica coating on the collagen fibrils.The tanning of leather involves chemically intense processes leading to environmental pollution, resulting in a demand for cleaner but effective collagen stabilization mechanisms for the leather industry.1,2 Basic chromium(III) sulphate is the most common mineral tanning agent and, is preferred industrially because of the high hydrothermal stability. It has excellent properties in addition to relative short times required to produce nished leathers.3 However, poor uptake of chromium salts leads to high chemical and biological oxygen demand, and toxicity concerns relating to hexavalent chromium(VI) exposure, have led researchers to seek more environmentally friendly alternatives. 4-6Mineral tanning agents such as chromium, zirconium, aluminium, titanium and iron can all stabilize collagen and impart varying degrees of hydrothermal stability.3,7 Synthetic tanning agents (syntans) and vegetable tanning agents from plant polyphenols along with aldehydic cross-linkers are also commonly used, but typically in conjunction with mineral tannages.8 Combination tannages however, with or without mineral tanning agents, can overcome the issues that single tanning systems have with hydrothermal stability.9,10 For example, Vitolo and co-workers observed an increase in chromium uptake when sodium silicate was used in combination with basic chromium sulphate.11 Whilst pre-tans can improve the penetration and even distribution of the main tanning agents in the collagen matrix, a co-stabilizing agent can increase the efficiency of chrome uptake by reducing the amount of chrome required.8 With this idea of combining a weak and strong tanning agent, further studies have been carried out by investigating combinations of a number of tanning options and their effect on collagen stabilization. 4,6,9,12 Soluble silicates such as sodium silicate belong to a group of compounds that contain varying compositions of an alkali met...

Action of silicic acid derived from sodium silicate precursor toward improving performances of porous gelatin membrane

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Quantitative and structural analysis of isotopically labelled natural crosslinks in type I skin collagen using LC-HRMS and SANS

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Collagen structure changes during chrome tanning in propylene carbonate

“…Collagen molecules are aligned in a quarter stagger structure, resulting in repeating gap/overlap regions within the fibrils [12,13]. Because of its ordered arrangement, molecular level information can be acquired by Xray scattering techniques, including diffraction, to measure the periodicity of the gap/overlap regions (D-period) and the size of collagen fibrils [14][15][16][17][18][19]. The interactions between water and collagen play a crucial role in the stability of the triple helix [20][21][22].…”