Development of a DNA-analytical Method for the Identification of Animal Hair Fibers in Textiles

Abstract

During the last several years, the demand of animal natural fibers for the production of high-quality textiles has increased worldwide, especially in Europe, Japan and North America. Due to the restricted availability and the high prices, adulteration and false declaration are common. Usually, fiber analysis is done by scanning electron microscopy, but this method is very time-consuming and expensive, and results strongly depend on processing stage and expertise of the microscopist. For these reasons, reliable methods are required to determine the composition and the proportion of distinct animal fibers in yarns, fabrics and garments, irrespective of their processing conditions. In this study, a DNA-analytical method is presented to unequivocally identify cashmere/cashgora, fine wool, yak and camel hair (Bactrian camel, dromedary) in untreated and treated (washed, bleached, dyed) fibers samples, as well as in fiber blends.