Molecular Weight of Cotton Cellulose: Effect of Treatment with a Total Cellulase

Abstract

Cotton fabric is treated with a total cellulase preparation in either a Launderometer or a reciprocal water bath/shaker for times ranging from 10 to 180 minutes. Control fabrics, buffer-only treated fabrics, and cellulase-treated fabrics are analyzed by gel permeation chromatography to determine peak, weight-average, and number-average molecular weights. The GPC data are compared to weight loss and breaking load mea surements on control and treated fabrics. Despite considerable weight loss and breaking load reduction with the total cellulase treatment in the Launderometer, GPC analysis does not show a reduction in the molecular weight of the cellulose.

Cellulose degradation in newsprint paper ageing

“…The most used method at present is GPC of nonderivatised cellulose in the solution LiCl/DMAc [13,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. The effective solvent system for GPC of cellulose is LiCl/DMI [26][27][28][29][30]. Different results were obtained in the comparison of molecular weight determination by viscometry and various methods of GPC of cellulose tricarbanilates.…”

Effect of purified Trichoderma reesei cellulases on formation of cotton powder from cotton fabric

“…Thus, the produced powder is hydrolyzed faster than the original fabric. In short treatment times only the most accessible and external glycosidic bonds of fabrics are hydrolyzed leaving the molecular chain of cellulose intact (measured as MW), as shown by Rouselle and associates18 with total cellulase and by Morgado and associates13 with TC and EG‐enriched enzymes. We did not measure the molecular weight distribution of the cellulose of the cotton fabric used as substrate in cellulase treatments.…”

“…Similar results were obtained by Rahkamo and associates19–20 using dissolving pulp as a substrate. On the other hand, Rousselle and associates18 did not observe any reduction in MW of cotton cellulose after three hours of treatment with total cellulase (Cellusoft L, Trichoderma origin) in a Launderometer despite the high weight loss (20%) and breaking load reduction (77%) of cotton printcloth fabric. In addition to investigations of substrate degree of polymerization (DP), the molecular weight of the cotton powder formed after treatment with different T. reesei cellulase preparations, or the total crude, EG‐rich and CBH‐rich mixtures, was investigated by Azevedo and associates 16.…”

“…Many mechanistic studies of individual cellulases of T. reesei have focused on the analysis of soluble products formed from insoluble cellulose substrates and on the analysis of physical fabric properties such as weight loss, tensile strength and pilling. Furthermore, in several studies with T. reesei enzymes, the investigations have been carried out using commercial total cellulases (TCs), or possibly enriched or gene‐deleted mixtures 7, 13, 16–18. Since dosage of the enzyme preparations is usually specified in grams or milliliters of enzyme preparation per gram of fabric, it is very difficult to make comparisons among different cellulase preparations and their effects on cotton fabrics.…”

Synthesis and activity of NH2‐ and COOH‐terminal elastase recognition sequences on cotton

“…The degree of substitution was found to be 1.4 which corresponds to ≈ 46 carboxymethylated anhydroglucose sites per 100 anhydroglucose units. Cellulase treatment of the cotton twill was accomplished with Cellusoft L, a liquid total enzyme (Novo Nordisk) as outlined previously (10).…”