Constituents of hides and skins

protein
• Fibre bundles composed of fibres (20 – 200 µm in
diameter) which in turn consist of elementary
fibres (about 5 µm in diameter), and these of fibrils
(10 – 100 nm in diameter), and these of microfibrils
(about 5 nm in diameter), and these of
macromolecules.
• They are composed of three polypeptide chains
which are twisted together in form of a helix (triple
helix) and which consist of amino acids that are
linked together by peptide bonds
 Composition of animal skin
• Water ca. 65 %
• Proteins ca. 33 %
• Mineral matter ca. 0.5 %
• Fatty substances 2– 6 % (cattle, calf)
2–10 % (goat)
5–30 % (sheep
 Amino acids
• The amino acids are the constituents of
proteins. They contain the amino group -NH2,
the carboxyl group -COOH and the radical -R.
The general formula is:
R

H2N–CH–COOH
The radical -R characterizes the amino acids and
classifies them into the following groups
•Non-polar, non-reactive
• Polar, reactive
• There are 20 different amino acids in the
structure of collagen.
• Typical of collagen is the presence of hydroxy
proline (HYP) and glycine (GLY)
Structure of a polypeptide chain of amino acids
(AA)
Chemical composition of proteins
• 45 – 55 % carbon
• 6 – 8 % hydrogen
• 19 – 25 % oxygen
• 16 – 19 % nitrogen
• 0.5 – 2.5% sulfur, phosphorus, iron, bromine,
chlorine
Globular proteins (ca. 3.5 %)
• a. Albumines
• b. Globulines removed in beam house
• c. Various proteides operation
and melanines
Fibrous proteins
• Collagen (ca. 98%) structural
substance
• Elastin (ca. 1%) for leather
• Keratin (epidermis, hair) making
Keratin
• Characteristic sulfur content of
3 – 5% (disulfide bridge of cystine)
Hydrolytically splittable by reduction and
oxidation.
– S – S – + 2H ––> 2 – SH
characteristic of keratin is the presence of the
sulfur-containing amino acid cystine (CYS).
 Physical and chemical properties
• .Whitish, hard and brittle in the dry state
• Insoluble in cold water and organic solvents.
• Water absorption up to 70 % on the tissue
weight; partly deposited in form of water of
hydration or capillary water.
• Water vapour absorption up to 50 % on the
collagen weight. Decisive advantages over
synthetic replacement materials.
• Preservation by dehydration is possible
• With continuous heating in the presence of water, the
fibers shrink to one third of their original length and begin
to cement together irreversibly.
• Collagen shows minimum swelling at the isoelectric point.
• Dilute acids and alkalis cause swelling due to the charge,
i. e. volume and weight increase owing to higher water
uptake (reversible, almost no change in structure of
collagen).
• Increase in temperature and concentration and extension
of time result in swelling due to hydrolysis (only partially
reversible).
• Hydrotropic substances enhance swelling and lower the
cementing temperature, the ones with strong polarity
render collagen soluble
 LIPIDES
• Lipids (or lipid) is the broad term applied to fatty-like substances found in living matter which are
characterized by their insolubility in water and solubility in solvents such as ether, chlorinated or
aromatic hydrocarbons, or alcohols.
• The deposition of lipids in the skin can be easily demonstrated by histological techniques using fat-
soluble dyes
• A high concentration indicated surrounding the sebaceous glands, in is the hair pockets, and in the
nucleated cells of the epidermal layer.
• Also, there is a random deposition in the corium which varies in amount. This corium deposition
occurs in fat cells which are similar to the fatty tissue of the adipose layer but, in this instance, the
cells are interspersed between the collagen fibers of the corium, and contribute to grease stains in the
leather.
• classifications which are characterized by their
related chemical structures, such as the simple
lipides, of which the triglycerides (fats) and waxes
are examples; the compound lipides, comprising
the phospholipides, glycolipides, phosphatides;
and the derived lipides, of which the fatty acids,
alcohols, and sterols are examples.
• All three types are extractable from the skin and
play an important role in the normal physiological
functioning of the skin.
 carbohydrates
• carbohydrate chemistry of skin is not limited to sugars derived
from a single monomeric substance of the carbohydrates which
are found in the blood.
• the skin is an active tissue, containing cells undergoing the
normal growth and reproductive cycle, one would expect to find
those concentrations of carbohydrates which are concerned
with cell metabolism.
• must be made of the amino sugars, glucosamine and
galactosamine, which are the characterizing substances found in
mucopolysaccharides, mucoids and many glycoproteins
• Large reserves of glycogen are stored by the cells of the
epidermal system and as they are pushed to the surface, the
glycogen is exhausted by the keratin synthesis.
 enzymes
• presence of tyrosinase in the skin appears to
have been , activity after irradiation with
ultraviolet light, which activates the enzyme.
• Other skin enzymes which have include
amylase, diastase, and alkaline phosphatase,
the latter in the hair follicles and sweat glands.
• the enzyme have an activity of the skin
metabolism.
 minerals
the mineral constituents of skin are differences
based on age ,sex environment, and biological
disturbances.
mineral Percentage(%)
potassium 322-558
Sodium 122-247
Calcium 15-65
magnesium 18-34
phosphorus 351
Copper 0.5
zink 6
iron 24
arsenic 1.0
• Most of the phosphorus is present in the epidermal layer
and undoubtedly results from the high phospholipide
content of this region.
• Iron is derived from the blood hemoglobin and from the
nuclei and chromatin of cells as well as from the hair
• Copper is undoubtedly related to the pigments found in
skin, that it functions as a catalyst in mammalian
pigmentation and in keratinization.
• that calcium and magnesium are found in some
concentration in the basal layers of the epidermal system.
• Calcium give stability and adhesiveness to cell surfaces.