title: A novel process for synthesis of spherical nanocellulose by controlled hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose using anaerobic microbial consortium.
abstract: Degradation of cellulose by anaerobic microbial consortium is brought about either by an exocellular process or by secretion of extracellular enzymes. In this work, a novel route for synthesis of nanocellulose is described where in an anaerobic microbial consortium enriched for cellulase producers is used for hydrolysis. Microcrystalline cellulose derived from cotton fibers was subjected to controlled hydrolysis by the anaerobic microbial consortium and the resultant nanocellulose was purified by differential centrifugation technique. The nanocellulose had a bimodal size distribution (43±13 and 119±9 nm) as revealed by atomic force microscopy. A maximum nanocellulose yield of 12.3% was achieved in a span of 7 days. While the conventional process of nanocellulose preparation using 63.5% (w/w) sulfuric acid resulted in the formation of whisker shaped nanocellulose with surface modified by sulfation, controlled hydrolysis by anaerobic microbial consortium yielded spherical nanocellulose also referred to as nano crystalline cellulose (NCC) without any surface modification as evidenced from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Also, it scores over chemo-mechanical production of nanofibrillated cellulose by consuming less energy due to enzyme (cellulase) assisted catalysis. This implies the scope for use of microbial prepared nanocellulose in drug delivery and bio-medical applications requiring bio-compatibility.
authors.affiliation: Nanotechnology Research Group, Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division, Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Adenwala Road, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Satyamurthy
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vigneshwaran
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000201:enzymology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002480:Cellulase / Q000378:metabolism; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D032561:Cotton Fiber; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D006868:Hydrolysis; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D054118:Nanospheres; D010316:Particle Size; D018583:Pliability; D011208:Powders; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D014462:Ultrafiltration
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D011208:Powders; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D002482:Cellulose; D002480:Cellulase; C033158:sulfuric acid; C109691:microcrystalline cellulose