The physical action of cellulases revealed by a quartz crystal microbalance study using ultrathin cellulose films and pure cellulases.

The effects of fungal cellulases on model cellulose films were studied using a high-resolution quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensitive to minute changes of the nanometer thick model cellulose films. It was found that endoglucanases not only produce new end groups but also cause a swelling of the cellulose film. The cellobiohydrolases degraded the films quickly, which was detected as a rapid decrease in the remaining amount of cellulose on the QCM crystal. However, changing viscoelastic properties of the films also indicated a softening of the film during the degradation. A defined mixture of selected cellulases caused a significantly higher rate of degradation than only cellobiohydrolases. Cellulase synergism is discussed with the endoglucanase swelling effects and film softening added.