Vol. 9, Special Issue 2, Part F (2025)

Keratin is that has been used in the production of fibrous composites, and with necessary modifications, it can be developed into gels, films, nanoparticles, and microparticles. Bioconversion of the biowaste, chicken feathers into Keratin, a multipurpose biopolymer by microbial degradation and its further conversion into biodegradable biopolymer using plasticizers such as polyethylene glycol, glycerol, and sorbitol was taken up in this study. Microbial Extraction of keratin from chicken feathers of broiler and native chicken using keratinase (from Bacillus licheniformis), was identified by SDS PAGE, the secondary structure was studied using Nexus FT/IR-4700 typeA spectrometer and confirmed by SEM. This research also revealed the feasibility of incorporating bioactive molecules like alkaline phosphatase into the keratin films for controlled-release applications. The study concluded that, by increasing the concentration of glycerol, the keratin sheets became more flexible and soft, also the increase of plasticizer concentration from 25 to 55 g/100 g gelatin caused an increase in flexibility and reduction of resistance and water vapor barrier.