Hydrolysis of a mixture of saccharides by cellulase from Aspergillus niger and its application for visible-light-induced hydrogen gas production system using Mg chlorophyll-a and platinum nanoparticles

Cellulase obtained from Aspergillus niger was used to hydrolyze a mixture of saccharides containing sucrose, maltose, and cellobiose; the reduced form of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)), which is NADH, was produced during hydrolysis of the mixture of saccharides in the presence of NAD(+) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). We have developed a visible-light-induced enzymatic biohydrogen production system involving the combination of cellulase-mediated hydrolysis of the mixture of saccharides and hydrogen production by platinum nanoparticles using photosensitization of Mg chlorophyll-a (Mg Chl-a). Continuous production of hydrogen gas was observed when the reaction mixture containing saccharides, cellulase, GDH, NAD(+), Mg Chl-a, methylviologen (MV2+, an electron donor), and platinum nanoparticles was irradiated by visible light. After 120 mm of irradiation, the amount of hydrogen produced from the mixture of saccharides was approximately 2.8 mu mol. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.