Staple viscose fibres, of a type commonly used in wound-dressing materials, were treated with a celJuJase complex isolated from Geotricum candidum. Adsorption of cellulase onto the fibre and rates of cellulolytic hydrolysis were measured under the applied-treatment conditions. Changes in fibre properties were measured in terms of their speciHc surface area accessible to N^ and cellulases and in terms of their mean pore radius, moisture regain, degree of swelling, and teasile strength. In particular, it was found that the sorption of Staphylococcus aureus cells from a bacterial suspension increased to 90% for the cellulase-treated Tibres compared with only 2% for the untreated fibres. Cellulase treatment is therefore recommended as a means of increasing the sorption properties of cellulosic wound dres,sings.

This work describes a novel heterogeneous oxidation catalyst which is analogous to the homogeneous-phase Fentons reagent for the successful destruction of a range of organic pollutants. The catalyst is a polyacrylonitrile fibre which was modified to incorporate ligating groups, resulting in a transition metal cation being firmly fixed onto the fibre. The novelty of the catalyst resides in its open-knit mesh structure. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the catalyst containing ferric ions (as the active site) is shown to rapidly decompose phenol in addition to (a) the anthraquinone dyes: acid blue 45, carminic acid and reactive blue 19, and (b) the azo-dye drimarine red K&. The decomposition reaction was followed by ultraviolet spectroscop): and the distribution of ferric ions on the external surface of the fibre was examined by a scanning electron microscope. The mechanical properties of the fibre were found to have decreased on modification but were still sufficient for the manufacture and commercial exploitation of the fibre.