Observation of Biodegradation of Cellulose Fibers Using Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging

ORAL

Abstract

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth and can provide a renewable supply of ethanol fuel to replace fossil fuels. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of the biodegradation of cellulose is essential to the development novel enzyme systems that can efficiently and selectivity degrade a variety of biomass substrates. A novel Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging (SPRI) instrument was used to study the biodegradation of cellulose fibers anchored to a thiolated gold surface. The kinetics of binding of the inactive enzymes to cellulose fibers and their digestion by catalytically-active homologs will be presented.

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Authors

  • Oleh Tanchak

    Department of Physics, University of Guelph, University of Guelph

  • Scott Allen

    University of Guelph, Department of Physics, University of Guelph

  • Darrell Cockburn

    Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, University of Guelph

  • Anthony Clarke

    University of Guelph, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph

  • Jacek Lipkowski

    Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, University of Guelph

  • John Dutcher

    University of Guelph, Department of Physics, University of Guelph