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Published on: February 26, 2021
Nano-tubular cellulose for bioprocess technology development.
Athanasios A Koutinas1, Vasilios Sypsas, Panagiotis Kandylis
1Food Biotechnology Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Patras, Greece. a.a.koutinas@upatras.gr
Plos One
|April 13, 2012
Summary
Nano-tubular cellulose (NC) enhances alcoholic fermentation and enables low-temperature bioprocessing by reducing activation energy. This cellulosic material also aids in freeze-drying viscous solutions and opens new avenues for composite materials.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Materials Science
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Delignified cellulosic material acts as a yeast immobilization support, promoting alcoholic fermentation.
- The full biotechnological potential of this material remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize nano-tubular cellulose (NC).
- To investigate its application in bioprocessing, cold pasteurization, and freeze-drying.
- To explore its potential for novel material development.
Main Methods:
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
- Porosimetry
- X-ray powder diffractometry
Main Results:
- The unique tubular/porous structure of NC was confirmed.
- NC demonstrated suitability for cold pasteurization and enhanced fermentation via a 'glucose pump' mechanism.
- NC facilitated the crystallization of invert sugar solutions during freeze-drying and enabled low-temperature fermentation by reducing activation energy.
Conclusions:
- NC's structure is ideal for bioprocessing and cold pasteurization.
- NC facilitates novel applications like home-scale wine fermentation and improved freeze-drying.
- NC presents opportunities for developing new composites and templates for nanomaterials.
