Size distribution of cortical cells in animal fibres

A paper on the size range of cortical cells, and correlation between the average linear dimensions and the animal species or thickness of the fibers from which the cells were obtained was presented at the 83rd World Conference of the Textile Institute, held in Shanghai, May 2004. The cortical cells, obtained by enzyme treatment of a variety of natural keratin fibers, were measured using light microscopy. Most of the fiber samples gave conventional bell-shaped normal fiber distributions with coefficient of variation (CV) in fiber diameter values within the typical range of wool samples. In case of rabbit and possum fiber samples, the CVs were large, and the diameter distributions were asymmetrical with a pronounced 'coarse edge.' One side of some of some cortical cells in the rabbit and possum samples also bore faint impressions of the ladder medullas which are present in these fibers. The mean diameters and lengths of the cells obtained varied between restricted ranges of 5μm to 7μm and from 84μm to 111μm respectively. A direct correlation was also found between mean fiber diameter and cortical cell length.