Several researchers in our group previously demonstrated that bacterial cellulose synthesis enzyme, Bcs A-B, bound on the surface of a chip, is capable of producing crystalline cellulose II. In this paper, we extended the work by incorporating lignin in the system. Lignin was polymerized on the chip either before or after cellulose synthesis, and morphological studies were conducted. Atomic force microscopy studies showed that cellulose microfibril morphology was altered after lignin incorporation. Cellulose crystal size, and also the crystallinity index, were also significantly affected by lignin polymerization, particularly when the polymerizations were conducted simultaneously, suggesting that lignin deposition and incorporation changes the nature of cellulose microfibril deposition. The implications and limitations of this work with regard to native lignocellulose synthesis will be discussed.

Polymerization of cellulose and lignin on a chip: Morphological studies

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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