Food Biotechnology Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e34350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034350. Epub 2012 Apr 9.
Delignified cellulosic material has shown a significant promotional effect on the alcoholic fermentation as yeast immobilization support. However, its potential for further biotechnological development is unexploited. This study reports the characterization of this tubular/porous cellulosic material, which was done by SEM, porosimetry and X-ray powder diffractometry. The results showed that the structure of nano-tubular cellulose (NC) justifies its suitability for use in "cold pasteurization" processes and its promoting activity in bioprocessing (fermentation). The last was explained by a glucose pump theory. Also, it was demonstrated that crystallization of viscous invert sugar solutions during freeze drying could not be otherwise achieved unless NC was present. This effect as well as the feasibility of extremely low temperature fermentation are due to reduction of the activation energy, and have facilitated the development of technologies such as wine fermentations at home scale (in a domestic refrigerator). Moreover, NC may lead to new perspectives in research such as the development of new composites, templates for cylindrical nano-particles, etc.
去木质化的纤维素材料已被证明对酒精发酵具有显著的促进作用，可用作酵母固定化载体。然而，其在进一步生物技术开发方面的潜力尚未得到开发。本研究报告了这种管状/多孔纤维素材料的特性，通过扫描电子显微镜、孔隙率测定和 X 射线粉末衍射法进行了表征。结果表明，纳米管状纤维素 (NC) 的结构使其适合用于“冷巴氏杀菌”工艺，并能促进生物加工（发酵）。这可以用葡萄糖泵理论来解释。此外，还证明了在冷冻干燥过程中，如果没有 NC 的存在，粘性转化糖溶液的结晶是不可能实现的。这种效果以及极低温度发酵的可行性是由于降低了活化能，这使得在家用冰箱规模下进行葡萄酒发酵等技术的发展成为可能。此外，NC 可能会为新的研究领域带来新的视角，例如开发新型复合材料、圆柱纳米颗粒的模板等。
