Polydopamine modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) for efficient cellulase immobilization towards advanced bamboo fiber flexibility and tissue softness

Tong Qin; Liqin Liu; Haibing Cao; Bin Lu; Shuangxi Nie; Zhengbai Cheng; Xiaohong Zhang; Hongbin Liu; Xingye An

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126734

Polydopamine modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) for efficient cellulase immobilization towards advanced bamboo fiber flexibility and tissue softness

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 6):126734. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126734. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Authors

Tong Qin¹, Liqin Liu², Haibing Cao³, Bin Lu³, Shuangxi Nie⁴, Zhengbai Cheng³, Xiaohong Zhang³, Hongbin Liu⁵, Xingye An⁶

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 9, 13(th) Street, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, PR China.
² Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 9, 13(th) Street, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, PR China; Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Co., Ltd, No. 1, Jingxing Industry Zone, Jingxing First Road, Caoqiao Street, Pinghu, Zhejiang Province 314214, PR China.
⁴ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Clean Pulp & Papermaking and Pollution Control, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, PR China.
⁵ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 9, 13(th) Street, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, No. 9, 13(th) Street, TEDA, Tianjin 300457, PR China; Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5A3, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37683746
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126734

Abstract

Herein, a green facile approach to improve the flexibility of unbleached bamboo kraft pulp (UBKP) via an immobilized enzyme technology is proposed. Polydopamine (PDA) acts as versatile modification and coating materials of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) for assembling versatile bio-carriers (PDA@CNC). Cellulase biomacromolecules are efficiently immobilized on PDA@CNC to form cellulase@PDA@CNC nanocomposites. The relative enzyme activity, temperature/pH tolerance, and storage stability of cellulase were significantly improved after immobilization. The degree of polymerization treated UBKP decreased by 5.42 % (25 U/g pulp) compared to the control sample. The flexibility of treated fibers was 6.61 × 10¹⁴/(N·m²), which was 96.93 % higher (25 U/g) compared to the control and 3.88 times higher than that of the blank fibers. Cellulase@PDA@CNC performs excellent accessibility to fiber structure and induces high degree of fibrillation and hydrolysis of UBKP fibers, which contributes high softness of obtained tissue handsheets. The bio-carrier PDA@CNC within paper framework may further enhance tissue tensile strength. This study proposes a practical and environmentally friendly immobilization approach of cellulase@PDA@CNC for improving the hydrolysis efficiency and flexibility of UBKP fibers, which provides the possibility to maintain the strength of tissue paper while improving its softness, thus broadening the high-value application of immobilized enzyme technology in tissue production.

Keywords: Cellulase; Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC); Immobilization; Polydopamine (PDA); Tissue softness; fiber flexibility.

MeSH terms

Cellulase* / chemistry
Cellulose / chemistry
Enzymes, Immobilized / chemistry
Hydrolysis
Nanoparticles* / chemistry

Substances

polydopamine
Enzymes, Immobilized
Cellulase
Cellulose