Influence of Processing Temperature and Pressure on the Stability of the Structure of Hot-Pressed Ground Leather:Pleather

Abstract

The increased degree of transformation of leather to a material with thermoplastic properties is shown to increase this material's solubility in both dimethylsulfoxide and in a buffer similar to those used to dissolve high molecular weight proteins. This increase in solubility is controlled by the variable values of the processing parameters, temperature, and pressure, and is interpreted to suggest that this transformation of leather must be accompanied by the destruction of its collagen superstructure into fragments with a much smaller molecular weight. This model is further supported by molecular weight distributions as determined by size exclusion chromatography and by electrophoresis. The results of the investigation at the molecular level are corroborated by scanning electron microscopy of pleather samples.