The action of a new nonconventional series of (tryptophan-phenylatanine-histidine and tyrosine)-glycerol-ether surfactants as wetting agents in hot cotton mercerization was studied. The mercerization result was evaluated with the barium hydroxide absorption number, water absorbency and moisture regain, and mechanical properties of fibers; the dyeability of the mercerized samples with a direct and reactive dye was also studied. An improvement was observed for all the above parameters in the presence of the aforementioned wetting agents despite their being used in very low concentrations. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 1120-1124, 2009