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Updated: May 14, 2026
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Published on: July 20, 2016
Hydrolytic activities of crystalline cellulose nanofibers
Takeshi Serizawa1, Toshiki Sawada, Hiromichi Okura
1Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology , 2-12-1-H121 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan. serizawa@polymer.titech.ac.jp
Abstract:
Cellulose is commonly believed to be inactive to organic substances; this inertness is an essential requirement for raw materials in industrial products. Here we demonstrate the contradictory but promising properties, which are the hydrolytic activities of crystalline cellulose nanofibers for the ester, monophosphate, and even amide bonds of small organic substrates under extremely mild conditions (neutral pH, moderate temperature, and atmospheric pressure). The hydrolytic activities were significantly extended to decompose the coat proteins of model viruses, followed by a drastic decrease in their infection capabilities to the host cells.
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