Cellulose is the most abundant naturally occurring polymer and it is mostly obtained from wood. During the last decades, research efforts have been focused on a new class of cellulose-derived products, the nanocelluloses which comprise semi-crystalline cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). Preparation of CNF consists in a mechanical delamination of cellulosic fibres that requires high energy, limiting industrial production of CNF. In order to face this challenge, innovative pre-treatments of the fibres are still required to meet cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and sustainable production of CNF. Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) enzymes are recently-discovered fungal enzymes possessing a type II copper active center coordinated by a histidine brace. Their interest arises from their observed “boosting effect” on the enzymatic polysaccharide degradation. In this work, kraft pulp fibres were treated with a fungal LPMO from the AA9 family that harbors a carbohydrate binding module (CBM) and homogenized without prior mechanical treatment. Untreated pulps cannot be processed while pulps treated with the LPMO enzyme allowed the production of good quality nanocelluloses. Cellulose structure modifications induced by the LPMO were investigated by SEC, AFM and TEM. A high degree of defibrillation was observed down to nanoscale while the chains cleavages remained limited. Solid state 13C NMR demonstrates that LPMO creates nicking points that trigger the disintegration of the cellulose fibrillar structure and the release of elementary nanofibrils. Investigation of LPMO action using solid-state NMR provides direct evidence of modification of accessible and inaccessible surfaces surrounding the crystalline core of the fibrils. The importance of the CBM module was also demonstrated using complementary approaches. On the basis of these results, the mechanism of action of fungal LPMO on cellulose will be discussed. 

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMO) promote cellulose defibrillation: New tool for cellulose nanofibril production

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.