| Summary: | This thesis describes strategies for and examples ofcellulose fiber modification.The ability of an engineered biocatalyst, acellulose-binding module fused to theCandida antarcticalipase B, to catalyze ring-openingpolymerization of e-caprolactone in close proximity tocellulose fiber surfaces was explored. The water content in thesystem was found to regulate the polymer molecular weight,whereas the temperature primarily influenced the reaction rate.The hydrophobicity of the cellulose sample increased as aresult of the presence of surface-deposited polyester. A two-step enzymatic method was also investigated. Here,Candida antarctica lipase B catalyzed the acylation ofxyloglucan oligosaccharides.The modified carbohydrates werethen incorporated into longer xyloglucan molecules through theaction of a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase. The modifiedxyloglucan chains were finally deposited on a cellulosesubstrate. The action ofCandida antarcticalipase B was further investigated inthe copolymerization of e-caprolactone and D,L-lactide.Copolymerizations with different e-caprolactone-to-D,L-lactideratios were carried out. Initially, the polymerization wasslowed by the presence of D,L-lactide. During this stage,D,L-lactide was consumed more rapidly than ε-caprolactoneand the incorporation occurred dimer-wise with regard to thelactic acid units. Morphological studies on wood fibers were conducted using asol-gel mineralization method. The replicas produced werestudied, without additional sample preparation, by electronmicroscopy and nitrogen adsorption. Information concerning thestructure and accessibility of the porous fiber wall wasobtained. Studies of never-dried kraft pulp casts revealedmicro-cavities and cellulose fibrils with mean widths of 4.7(±2) and 3.6 (±1) nm, respectively. Finally, cationic catalysis by simple carboxylic acids wasstudied. L-Lactic acid was shown to catalyze the ring-openingpolymerization of ε-caprolactone in bulk at 120 °C.The reaction was initiated with methylß-D-glucopyranoside, sucrose or ...
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