Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose with Different Crystallinities Studied by Means of SEC-MALLS

The reactions of exo-cellulase (cellobiohydrolase, CBH) and endo-cellulase (endoglucanase, EG) were investigated by analyzing the insoluble residues of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and filter paper cellulose (FPC) during enzymatic hydrolysis. Molecular parameters including molecular weight and its distribution, degree of polymerization, and radii of gyration were measured by size exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle laser light scattering. No significant change in MCC chains was found during the whole reaction period, indicating that CBH digestion follows a layer-by-layer solubilization manner. This reaction mode might be the major reason for slow enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. On the other hand, the degree of polymerization of FPC chains decreases rapidly in the initial reaction, indicating that EG digestion follows a random scission manner, which may create new ends for CBH easily. The slopes of the conformation plots for MCC and FPC increase gradually, indicating stronger chain stiffness of cellulose during hydrolysis.