Monitoring the curing efficiency of a plant-based green engineered additive on caprine skin: A Spectroscopic and Chemometric novel approach

Environmental sustainability in industrial processing is one of the most fundamental requirements for sustainable development. Leather industry is known for its vast environmental pollution. Nevertheless, green engineering may occur a paradigm shift in this sector. Plant-based goatskins curing is a cutting-edge green technology that holds the concept of pollution reduction through prevention on the upper stream of leather processing. The successful and rapid monitoring of the efficiency of this technology is the foremost demand for mass-level applications. In this study, FTIR spectroscopy was employed for monitoring the efficiency of this technology using a plant Polygonum hydropiper. Chemometrics was also applied to extract information from spectral data leading to understanding the inherent effect of studying preservatives on goatskins collagen chemistry. 10% plant-paste + 5% NaCl, 10% plant-paste + 10% NaCl, and 15% plant-paste + 5% NaCl on goatskin were assessed by FTIR on 0th, 10th, and 30th days of preservation. The Spectral curve fitting (R2 = 0.99) area of amide I and II of collagen peptide bands revealed 1.33 to 2.73 times more structural suitability of studied goatskins than control. Principal component analysis and Hierarchical cluster analysis resulted that, after 30 days of curing, 15% paste + 5% salt rubbed goatskin collagen matrix significantly (around 50%) interacted with P. hydropiper. The interaction was superficial as it happened before the opening up of collagen fibers. In conclusion, FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics can be an effective tool in evaluating the efficiency of goatskin curing and understanding the entire effect on collagen chemistry quickly.