An amperometric enzyme biosensor for real-time measurements of cellobiohydrolase activity on insoluble cellulose.

An amperometric enzyme biosensor for continuous detection of cellobiose has been implemented as an enzyme assay for cellulases. We show that the initial kinetics for cellobiohydrolase I, Cel7A from Trichoderma reesei, acting on different types of cellulose substrates, semi-crystalline and amorphous, can be monitored directly and in real-time by an enzyme-modified electrode based on cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium (Pc). PcCDH was cross-linked and immobilized on the surface of a carbon paste electrode which contained a mediator, benzoquinone.

Reconciliation of opposing views on membrane-sugar interactions.

It is well established that small sugars exert different types of stabilization of biomembranes both in vivo and in vitro. However, the essential question of whether sugars are bound to or expelled from membrane surfaces, i.e.