Rapid Observation of Phase Transformations in Fibrous Proteins using an X-Ray Diffractometer

Abstract

MANY naturally occurring fibrous materials possess X-ray diffraction patterns with few diffuse and ill-defined spots which defy precise analysis. Nevertheless, phase transitions involving such materials have been extensively studied and a great deal is known about them. Wool keratin, being of great technological importance, has been the subject of many investigations¹. Of particular interest in the molecular biology of wool keratin are the time-dependent parameters of creep and relaxation and their relation to the stable α and β phases². Little is known of the molecular changes involved during the simple process of stretching a fibre, and the interpretative difficulties are formidable if we must accept the coiled helical system (α) and a simple planar system (β)³ as the two stable states in the reversible a α⇌β transformation.