Fig. 8From: Functional characterization of the native swollenin from Trichoderma reesei: study of its possible role as C1 factor of enzymatic lignocellulose conversionDetails of SWO1 binding to CNCs revealed by AFM phase imaging. CNCs on a single silicon wafer (~1 cm2) were incubated with 0.4 µM SWO1 in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.0, at 40 °C with agitation. Incubation was done over 24 h in a total reaction volume of 2 mL. AFM imaging was done on dried silicon wafers at room temperature. A Recorded height images of CNCs are blurred, and structural features or proteins are not readily visible. B Phase imaging allowed the visualization of features like CNC-attached proteins (green dashed ellipse) covered by a hydration shell (bright layer enveloping CNCs). By comparison with the height image (cyan dashed ellipse), it is clear that the hydration shell is also, at least, partly responsible for the apparent broadening of the CNCs (Fig. 7E). The hydration shell is not present or significantly reduced upon incubation with BSA. Scale bars 30 nmBack to article page