Structural changes of lignocelluloses by a nonionic surfactant, Tween 20, and their effects on cellulase adsorption and saccharification

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2011-10, Vol.102 (20), p.9605-9612
• Main Authors: Seo, Dong-June, Fujita, Hirotaka, Sakoda, Akiyoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Biological and medical sciences; Carbohydrates - chemistry; cell walls; Cellulase; Cellulase - metabolism; Cellulose; Collapse; Diffusion; endo-1,4-beta-glucanase; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Ions; Lignin - chemistry; Lignocellulose; Lignocelluloses; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; nonionic surfactants; Polysorbates - pharmacology; Saccharification; Surface-Active Agents - chemistry; Tween 20; Walls; X-Ray Diffraction
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.07.034

► Treatment of lignocelluloses with Tween 20 contributed to the formation of 10- to 50-nm pores. ► Tween 20 treatment increased cellulase adsorption rate and amount onto lignocelluloses substantially. ► Structural effect of Tween 20 depended on lignin contents and crystallinity. In this work, we found that Tween 20 treatment (0–8mM) contributed to the cell wall collapse of most samples except for those with high lignin contents and high crystallinity. Cell wall collapse contributed to the formation of 10- to 50-nm pores and not only increased the monolayer saturation amount of adsorbed cellulase about 3–3.6 times but also increased the cellulase adsorption rate (De/r2) about 160–880 times. Moreover, cellulose conversion at 72h was also increased 8.7–21.5% by Tween 20 treatment. On the other hand, the adsorption of Tween 20 on Avicel (microcrystalline cellulose) hindered the cellulase reaction (adsorption and saccharification). The effect of Tween 20 treatment on the crystalline part was insignificant for both lignocelluloses and Avicel. It was found that some degree of pretreatment (e.g. lignin removal) that enhances Tween 20 diffusion into samples is necessary to obtain the structural effects of Tween 20.