Keith Gourlay
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Keith Gourlay has a total of 2 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Jack Nicholas Saddler
Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
1 shared publication - Valdeir Arantes
Laboratory of Applied Bionanotechnology, Department of Biotechnology, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena, Universidade de São Paulo, Lorena, SP, Brazil
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 24 July 2012
- Published by Springer Nature in Biotechnology for Biofuels
- Vol. 5 (1) , 51
Use of substructure-specific carbohydrate binding modules to track changes in cellulose accessibility and surface morphology during the amorphogenesis step of enzymatic hydrolysis
Background: Cellulose amorphogenesis, described as the non-hydrolytic “opening up” or disruption of a cellulosic substrate, is becoming increasingly recognized as one of the key steps in the enzymatic deconstruction of cellulosic biomass when used as a feedstock for fuels and chemicals production. Although this process is thought to play a major role in facilitating hydrolysis, the lack of quantitative techniques capable of accurately describing the molecular-level changes occurring in the substrate during amorphogenesis has hindered our understanding of this process. Results: In this work, techniques for measuring changes in cellulose accessibility are reviewed and a new quantitative assay method is described. Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) with specific affinities for crystalline (CBM2a) or amorphous (CBM44) cellulose were used to track specific changes in the surface morphology of cotton fibres during amorphogenesis. The extents of phosphoric acid-induced and Swollenin-induced changes to cellulose accessibility were successfully quantified using this technique. Conclusions: The adsorption of substructure-specific CBMs can be used to accurately quantify the extent of changes to cellulose accessibility induced by non-hydrolytic disruptive proteins. The technique provided a quick, accurate and quantitative measure of the accessibility of cellulosic substrates. Expanding the range of CBMs used for adsorption studies to include those specific for such compounds as xylan or mannan should also allow for the accurate quantitative tracking of the accessibility of these and other polymers within the lignocellulosic biomass matrix.
- 24 July 2012
- Published by Springer Nature in Biotechnology for Biofuels
- Vol. 5 (1) , 51
Open AccessUse of substructure-specific carbohydrate binding modules to track changes in cellulose accessibility and surface morphology during the amorphogenesis step of enzymatic hydrolysis
Background: Cellulose amorphogenesis, described as the non-hydrolytic “opening up” or disruption of a cellulosic substrate, is becoming increasingly recognized as one of the key steps in the enzymatic deconstruction of cellulosic biomass when used as a feedstock for fuels and chemicals production. Although this process is thought to play a major role in facilitating hydrolysis, the lack of quantitative techniques capable of accurately describing the molecular-level changes occurring in the substrate during amorphogenesis has hindered our understanding of this process. Results: In this work, techniques for measuring changes in cellulose accessibility are reviewed and a new quantitative assay method is described. Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) with specific affinities for crystalline (CBM2a) or amorphous (CBM44) cellulose were used to track specific changes in the surface morphology of cotton fibres during amorphogenesis. The extents of phosphoric acid-induced and Swollenin-induced changes to cellulose accessibility were successfully quantified using this technique. Conclusions: The adsorption of substructure-specific CBMs can be used to accurately quantify the extent of changes to cellulose accessibility induced by non-hydrolytic disruptive proteins. The technique provided a quick, accurate and quantitative measure of the accessibility of cellulosic substrates. Expanding the range of CBMs used for adsorption studies to include those specific for such compounds as xylan or mannan should also allow for the accurate quantitative tracking of the accessibility of these and other polymers within the lignocellulosic biomass matrix.