The activity and kinetic properties of cellulases in substrates containing metal ions and acid radicals

Abstract

The effects of various metal ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Co2+) and anions (Cl–, SO2-4 and CH3COO–) on two cellulases were investigated. Fitting of the data to Michaelis-Menten kinetics showed that Al3+ noncom-petitively inhibited cellulase (Km = 22.68 g/L; Vmax = 0.269 mg/min at 5.0 mmol/L AlCl3) and Mg2+ competitively inhibited cellulase (Km = 50.0 g/L; Vmax = 0.434 mg/min at 10.0 mmol/L MgCl2) Different metal ions increased or decreased inhibition of cellulase activity slightly below 1 mmol/L and strongly over 10 mmol/L. The results indicated that filter paper activeity (FPA) was suitable for analysis of enzymatic saccharification with various lignocellulosic substrates whereas crude cellulase was suitable for applications in the biomass industry. Some metal ions were proved to inhibit cellulase reversibly.