Perspiration, fastness determination

The presence of residual unbound transition-metal ions on a dyed substrate is a potential health hazard. Various eco standards quote maximum permissible residual metal levels. These values are a measure of the amount of free metal ions extracted by a perspiration solution [53]. Histidine (5.67) is an essential amino acid that is naturally present as a component of perspiration. It is recognised to play a part in the desorption of metal-complex dyes in perspiration fastness problems and in the fading of such chromogens by the combined effects of perspiration and sunlight. The absorption of histidine by cellophane film from aqueous solution was measured as a function of time of immersion at various pH values. On addition of histidine to an aqueous solution of a copper-complex azo reactive dye, copper-histidine coordination bonds were formed and the stability constants of the species present were determined [54]. Variations of absorption spectra with pH that accompanied coordination of histidine with copper-complex azo dyes in solution were attributable to replacement of the dihydroxyazo dye molecule by the histidine ligand [55]. 

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