II. Kinetics of the Reduction of Wool Keratin by Cysteine

Abstract

The kinetics of the reaction of cysteine solutions with wool keratin was studied as a function of concentration, hydrogen ion concentration, and temperature by means of the stress-relaxation technique. The reaction was found to follow pseudo first-order kinetics when the cysteine was present in sufficient excess to maintain its concentration constant during the reaction. The kinetics of the process is discussed in terms of the scission of the disulfide cross-links in keratin.