The research on regenerated protein fibers was relatively early in foreign countries. In 1866, British scientist E.E. Hughes successfully produced artificial protein fibers from animal glue. He dissolved animal gelatin in acetic acid, solidified and spun it in an aqueous solution of nitrate, and then used a ferrous salt solution for denitrification to further process it into protein fibers, but it was not industrialized. In 1894, Vandurasilk spun gelatin fibers by adding formaldehyde to gelatin solution.

In 1904, Todten Haupt spun casein extracted from cow's milk to produce casein fibers. By 1935, the Italian company Snia had successfully developed casein protein fibers that could be used for textiles. Two years later, industrialization was completed and a production line with a capacity of 1200 tons per year was built. After the war, its trade name was changed to Merinova. In 1938-1939, the British company Kaotalz achieved industrial production of casein protein fiber in milk, and the product was put on the market, but later ceased production. In 1939, the Atlantic Research Associate in the United States began industrial research on casein protein fibers, with a production capacity of 5000 tons in 1943. Production ceased after World War II.

In 1938, the British ICI company successfully developed peanut protein fiber, with the product name Ardil. After extracting oil from peanuts, the residue contains 50% protein, and peanut protein fiber products are short fibers. Production was stopped in 1957.

Corn protein fiber was first developed by Corn Products Refining in 1939 and began industrial production by Virginai Carolina Chemical in 1948. The product name Vicara is 2.2-7.7dtex wool type short fiber, and production was discontinued in 1957.

Soybeans have a protein content of over 35%, and both the United States and Japan have attempted to use soy protein to produce fiber. Japan's Showa industry soybean protein fiber was once launched on the market under the trade name "Silkool". In 1945, soybean protein fiber was briefly produced in the United States, and Ford Motor Company also used soybean protein fiber fabric for car interior decoration; In 1938, the Japanese Oil Company began research on soy protein fiber. Around 1942, the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan conducted a relatively systematic exploration in the extraction of soy protein and fiber shaping. In this study, the extracted soy protein precipitate was washed with water, pressed and dehydrated, and a dilute alkaline solution was used to prepare the spinning solution in a wet state.

Due to the limitations of the technological level at that time, the above-mentioned regenerated protein fibers were difficult to market due to various reasons such as low strength, poor physical and mechanical properties, and high manufacturing costs. Later, due to the development of the petroleum industry, researchers shifted their research on new fibers towards synthetic fibers and achieved industrial production. In recent years, people have gradually realized that synthetic fibers can cause environmental pollution, and the source of raw materials - oil - is facing a crisis. Natural fibers such as cotton, hemp, wool, silk, etc. are limited by planting and breeding areas and cannot be developed in large quantities. So, starting from the 1990s, foreign countries began to pay more attention to the research and development of regenerated protein fibers and protein modified fibers.

Silk, which can be used to make clothing fabrics, has long been popular due to its excellent dyeability, moisture absorption, comfort, and unique style. But it also has drawbacks: photo induced yellowing, poor wrinkle recovery, poor friction resistance, poor color fastness, etc. Grafting copolymerization is one of the effective methods to improve these defects. The introduction of MAN (methacrylonitrile) groups improved photo induced yellowing and enhanced color fastness [15]; Tsukada et al. used dihydroxy acid to graft silk, improving its wrinkle resistance, reducing photo induced yellowing, and not affecting its tensile strength; Shiozaki et al. have used epoxides to treat silk fibroin in order to improve the hand feel, wrinkle resistance, wash resistance, and wear resistance of fabrics.