Effect of chemical modification of cellulose on the activity of a cellulase from Aspergillus niger.
Five chemically modified forms of cellulose were prepared, characterized, and tested as substrates for a homogeneous glucanohydrolase from A. niger. The relative order of reactivity at pH 4.0 was DEAE = PEI > benzyl DEAE > cellulose > P > CM.The following abbreviations are used throughout the article: (RBB) Remazol brilliant blue R; (DEAE) diethylamino ethyl; (PEI) polethyleneimine; (CM) carboxymenthyl; (P) phospho; (DS) degree of RBB dye substitution of cellulose, in mol dye/100 glucose. This indicates that positively charged cellulose substrates are more susceptible to hydrolysis by the cellulase. This observation strengthens an earlier proposal that caroxyl groups on the enzyme are involved in substrate binding and catalytic action. Chemical modification is suggested as a method to increase the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, a process now in the commercial development stage.
Department of Chemistry, Hope College, Holland, Michigan 49423, USA.
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Boyer
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Redmond