Monday, May 5, 2008 - 1:30 PM
6-01

How Is Accessibility of Cellulose to Cellulase Affected by Choice of Pretreatment and Substrate?

Rajeev Kumar, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, 8000 Cummings Hall, Hanover, NH 03755 and Charles Wyman, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Center for Environmental Research and Technology, University of California, Riverside, 1084 Columbia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521.

The exposure of reactive sites of cellulose to cellulase is considered one of the most important factors for effective saccharification of cellulose. Previously, Yang and Wyman* showed that the rate of hydrolysis does not change with conversion for Avicel cellulose. Contrary to this, Hong et al.** using a different method claim that accesibility does change with hydrolysis. Thus, it is unclear whether the substrate or the enzyme or both affect hydrolysis and how pretreatment affects their interaction.  In this study, the change in accesbility of cellulose over hydrolysis was evlauated for cellulose in poplar solids prepared by leading pretreatments including ammonia fiber expansion, ammonia recycle percolation, controlled pH, dilute acid, lime, and sulfur dioxide. It was observed that accessibility and its change may be influenced by the type of pretreatment and that substrate and its composition may also play a vital role.

 
*  Yang, B., D.M. Willies, and C.E. Wyman, Changes in the enzymatic hydrolysis rate of Avicel cellulose with conversion. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2006. 94(6): p. 1122-8.

 **  Hong J., Ye X-H., Zhang Y.-H.P.  2007. Quantitative determination of cellulose accessibility to cellulase based on adsorption of a non-hydrolytic fusion protein containing CBM and GFP with its applications. Langmuir 23


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