EVALUATION OF THE ENZYMATIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF CELLULOSIC SUBSTRATES USING SPECIFIC HYDROLYSIS RATES AND ENZYME ADSORPTION

Adsorption of cellulases to cellulose is a critical step in the hydrol ysis of cellulosic substrates. However, the importance of adsorption i n determining the hydrolysis rate is unclear. The accessibility to cel lulases and specific hydrolysis rates were measured for various substr ates. No correlation was found between the amount of enzyme adsorbed a nd the initial hydrolysis rate for different substrates. Specific hydr olysis rates were found to differ among substrates. Furthermore, both accessibility to cellulases and the specific hydrolysis rate of substr ates were found to be changed by chemical and physical pretreatment of the substrate.