title: Improvement of degummed ramie fiber properties upon treatment with cellulase secreting immobilized A. larrymoorei A1.
abstract: Degummed ramie fiber is widely used in the textile industry. Cellulase enzyme can be effectively used for bio-polishing of the ramie fiber. We immobilized Agrobacterium larrymoorei A1, a potent extra-cellular cellulase producing bacteria, in Ca-alginate. The production of enzyme significantly increased with increasing alginate concentration and reached a maximum activity of 0.28 IU/ml at 20 g/l, which was 32% higher as compared to free cells. These immobilized cells were used on ramie fibers. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and differential interference contrast (DIC) studies showed increased smoothness and orientation of surface structure of the fibers after 19.5 h. The single fiber tenacity was almost same as compared to non-treated fiber and the initial modulus increased by 24.01%. The remarkable reusability of these immobilized cells provides a cost effective method for treatment of natural fibers containing cellulose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bera
authors.forename: Abhrajyoti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Asis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Dhrubajyoti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chattopadhyay
authors.forename: Krishanu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti
mesh_terms: D060054:Agrobacterium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D032402:Boehmeria / Q000737:chemistry*; D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000502:physiology; D002480:Cellulase / Q000737:chemistry*; D024022:Fibrillar Collagens / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D024022:Fibrillar Collagens; D002480:Cellulase