Fiber-Safe Extraction of Red Mordant Dyes from Hair Fibers

In 1995, Erica J. Tiedemann and Yiqi Yang developed a method for extracting red mordant dyes from wool fibers using a 0.1% EDTA in water/DMF solution. This method allowed for the preservation of the wool fibers' integrity while enabling the identification of dyes through spectrophotometry. The method proved to be as effective as strong acid extraction methods without destroying the protein fibers, although there was some loss of tensile strength. The technique was successfully applied to pre-Columbian cameloid fibers, indicating its usefulness for analyzing historic textile materials without causing damage.