The basidiomycete fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum causes a typical brown rot and is known to use reactive oxygen species in the degradation of cellulose. The extracellular Cel12A is one of the few endo-1,4-β-glucanase produced by G. trabeum. Here we cloned cel12A and heterologously expressed it in Aspergillus niger. The identity of the resulting recombinant protein was confirmed by mass spectrometr...

The recent interest in nanotechnology has triggered research on nanofibers and nanostructures. Here we present our work on fiber-based multifunctional materials including nanofibers obtained via electrospinning processes. Such nanofibers are of potential value given the highly porous structures they form and their large surface area-to-volume ratio which is often required in high performance ap...

Sorghum is a tropical grass grown primarily in semiarid and drier parts of the world, especially areas too dry for corn. Sorghum production also leaves about 58 million tons of by-products composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The low lignin content of some forage sorghums such as brown midrib makes them more digestible for ethanol production. Successful use of biomass for bi...

We report the draft genome sequence of the cellulose-degrading bacterium Clostridium papyrosolvens C7, originally isolated from mud collected below a freshwater pond in Massachusetts. This Gram-positive bacterium grows in a mesophilic anaerobic environment with filter paper as the only carbon source, and it has a simple cellulosome system with multiple carbohydrate-degrading enzymes.

The in situ synthesis of air-stable zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NZVI) embedded in cellulose fibers leads to the assembly of highly reactive magnetic filter papers. These engineered materials display a wide range of applications in the treatment of wastewater and drinking water, including chromium removal, phenol degradation, environmental bioremediation, and catalysis.

The switchgrass (SG) samples pretreated by cellulose solvent- and organic solvent-based lignocellulose fractionation were characterized by enzymatic hydrolysis, substrate accessibility assay, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Glucan di...

Hierarchical nanotubular TiN was prepared by magnesiothermic reduction of titania replicas of a cellulose substance (filter paper), which possessed high surface area (31.4 m(2) g(-1)), and was demonstrated to be a promising electrode material due to its electrochemical performances.

BACKGROUND Biomass refining into multiple products has gained considerable momentum due to its potential benefits for economic and environmental sustainability. However, the recalcitrance of biomass is a major challenge in bio-based product production. Multilevel composition fractionation processes should be beneficial in overcoming biomass recalcitrance and achieving effective conversion of mu...

The recently published data of Donadio in Critical Care provide convincing evidence that neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin (NGAL), an established key biomarker of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the critically ill, can be effectively removed by renal replacement therapy (RRT) [1]. His findings challenge recent work by Schilder et al. [2] and corroborate our concern regarding the potential ...