Development and application of molecular probe arrays to understand complex biopolymer chemistry involved in household soil and odour adhesion.

The chemistry involved in homecare and fabric cleaning can sometimes be complex. It often involves the adhesion of many components, including carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids. These components contaminate our clothing and other household items through simple daily use including contact with the skin, which is one of the major sources of laundry soils (Rajaganesh and Krifa, 2017). Proteins such as keratin, the most abundant structural protein in human skin and hair, contain high amounts of disulphide bonds causing them to adhere strongly to the surface of fabrics or are trapped between fibres and therefore resist enzymatic degradation during the washing process (Hoshino et al., 1995; Jaouadi et al., 2009). This problem is being exacerbated by the growing trend in society to wash at lower temperatures for better energy efficiency (Paul et al., 2016). This has led to a search for better enzymes in nature that not only perform well at low temperatures but can also degrade complex soils, including soluble and insoluble proteins such as keratin and proteins contained in blood (Paul et al., 2016). However, the search for new enzymes for detergents often begins without any research being performed into what exactly is contained within the soil before and after washing. Current methods used in the homecare and fabric cleaning industry do not enable the detection and quantification of major contaminants found in soiled garments (Rajaganesh and Krifa, 2017).

The proposed project aims to develop and apply hundreds of advanced molecular probes using high throughput arrays to identify key substrates involved in the adhesion of soils and malodours to fabrics and other household items. The techniques used in the project will allow for the identification of substrates contained in soils that adhere to fabrics before and after washing with water and enzyme-based detergents. Specifically, the project involves the use of comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (COMPP) which has previously been extensively used for analysis of plant cell walls by combining the extraction of cell wall polysaccharides with the use of microarrays that are probed with various monoclonal antibodies (mAb) (Moller et al., 2007). COMPP is a semiquantitative high throughput method that has been used and refined in recent years in various research projects, mainly involving the identification of complex plant cell wall polysaccharide components (Moller et al., 2007; Moller et al., 2012; Mravec et al., 2017).

This project proposes using COMPP to identify specific components that make up the complex soils that adhere to common household items including clothing fabrics. COMPP will be performed using the microarrays in the Devonshire building of Newcastle University with the aid of Professor William Willats research group. The research will focus on the identification of complex carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids, with an initial focus on proteins. The method will be refined throughout the project to develop new technologies for the identification of the components of complex household soils. The project will be completed as an iCASE in collaboration with Procter & Gamble (P&G) who will provide the soiled fabrics to be screened, alongside funding of £4600 per year from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The first step in the process will be to identify and order various mAbs that bind to specific proteins, carbohydrates or nucleic acids. This will be done using information provided by P&G from their preliminary experiments.