Partitioning of industrial cellulase in aqueous two-phase systems from Trichoderma viride QM9414

The partition of cellulase from Trichoderma viride in aqueous two-phase sys tems has been investigated with the purpose of designing a phase system for the bioconversion of cellulose. The partitioning of the enzyme in the two- phase systems composed of various water-soluble polymeric compounds, and th e influence of polymer molecular mass on polymer concentration are studied. Systems based on dextran and polyethylene glycol (PEG) proved to be optima l for partitioning the enzyme to the bottom phase which is rich in dextran T500. Cellulases produced by Trichoderma vir ide grown on Solka-Floc BW200 were fractionated by ammonium sulphate (50%) and purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A50. The overall purification steps showed a protein redu ction of 97% of the original protein content of the culture filtrate. On th e other hand, the specific activity (FPU) was increased 24-fold. In optimiz ation experiments, the maximum enzyme activity was found at pH 4.8 when inc ubated at 28 degreesC for 11 days. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right s reserved.