Effect of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose

Effect of cationic surfactants alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (C_nTAB) with varied alkyl chain lengths on the enzymatic hydrolysis of Avicel and the surface charge of cellulase was investigated. Enzymatic hydrolysis of Avicel increased linearly from 42.1 to 61.4 % with the increase of the concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (C₁₆TAB) logarithmically from 0.0001 to 0.01 mM, and reached a maximum value at the concentration of 0.01–0.03 mM. When the concentration was increased further, the cellulase solution became positively charged and the enzymatic hydrolysis of Avicel decreased rapidly. With the increasing alkyl chain length, C_nTAB provided more proton and neutralized the negative charge of cellulase more obviously. Therefore, the required concentration of C_nTAB could be less to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis of Avicel. In addition, C₁₆TAB could enhance enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of corncob at high solid content from 35.0 to 56.3 %; C₁₆TAB could reduce about 60 % of the cellulase loading in the enzymatic hydrolysis of corncob to obtain the same glucose yield. Effect of C₁₆TAB on the enzymatic hydrolysis of typical pretreated softwood and hardwood was also investigated. This study laid the foundation for using C_nTAB to recover cellulase, and provided the design direction for cellulase with higher activity and better stability by adjusting its hydrophilicity and chargeability.