IDENTIFICATION AND SURFACE-STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE STUDIED BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY

A combination of molecular modelling and atomic force microscopy (APM) techniques was used to study the surface structure of crystalline cellulose, Two-dimensional Fourier. analysis of the AFM raw data gave crystal parameters as well as a highly filtered inverse-transformed image. Molecular modelling was used to generate Connolly surfaces based on electron diffraction data for crystalline cellulose, The modelled surfaces were used to interpret the experimental AFM images, Monoclinic (1 $($) over bar$$ 10) crystal faces were identified. The method used enables the structural analysis of cellulose surfaces at the molecular level, where all biological processes involving cellulose take place.