Desorption of cellulases from cotton powder

Cotton fabrics were treated with three different Trichoderma reesei cellulase preparations (total crude - TC, endoglucanase enriched - EG-rich, cellobiohydrolase enriched - CBH-rich) using mechanical agitation to produce cotton powder. Desorption of cellulase enzymes from the cotton powder was then performed by washing with buffer. After 3 washings most of the protein was desorbed from the cotton powder and the amount of sugars released in the latter washings was negligible. TC and CBH-rich preparations produced a finer cellulose powder than EGs. The desorption process caused a decrease in degree of polymerisation (DP) specially for the cotton treated with EGs and a marked increase in polydispersity (P-d) for all preparations.