Firstly

the structure of keratin and its classification and extraction method were introduced. Then

being acted as natural polymer materials

keratin modification

material preparation and its application fields were reviewed. Keratin materials were modified commonly used physical blend and grafted polymerization methods. Keratin was applied to prepare environmentally friendly composite materials

while the degradation of keratin mainly adopt microbial and enzymatic hydrolysis. Keratin materials have good biocompatibility and biodegradability owing to the keratin hydrolysis can obtain many kinds of amino acid. Keratin was used as medical materials

drug release materials

daily materials

food packaging materials

plastic materials. It was also used as a good adsorbent of heavy metal ions and waste water decoloring agent. In summary

the keratin materials development and application has a very promising future.