The enzymatic susceptibility of cellulose microfibrils of the algal-bacterial type and the cotton-ramie type

Two types of substrates, the algal-bacterial type (rich in cellulose I-alpha) cellulose and the cotton-ramie type (dominant in cellulose I-beta) cellulose, were degraded comparatively by Trichoderma viride cellulase. The algal-bacterial type cellulose microfibril was more susceptible than the cotton-ramie type, The residual cellulose microfibrils were observed by TEM and analyzed by FTIR and electron diffraction. It becomes clear that the residual cellulose of the algal-bacterial type cellulose was getting rich in the cellulose I-beta with the lapse time of cellulase treatment, These results indicate that the cellulose I-alpha in the microfibril of the algal-bacterial type cellulose is hydrolyzed preferentially by the cellulase. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.