Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1994 Aug 2;91(16):7425-9
Published erratum appears in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1994 Sep 13;91(19):9195
Department of Botany, University of Texas, Austin 78713-7640.
Cellulose microfibrils with an electron diffraction pattern characteristic of crystalline native cellulose I have been assembled abiotically by means of a cellulase-catalyzed polymerization of beta-cellobiosyl fluoride substrate monomer in acetonitrile/acetate buffer. Substantial purification of the Trichoderma viride cellulase enzyme was found to be essential for the formation of the synthetic cellulose I allomorph. Assembly of synthetic cellulose I appears to be a result of a micellar aggregation of the partially purified enzyme and the substrate in an organic/aqueous solvent system favoring the alignment of glucan chains with the same polarity and extended chain conformation, resulting in crystallization to form the metastable cellulose I allomorph.