Biosynthesis and potential application of sustainable lignocellulolytic enzymes cocktail for the development of eco-friendly multifunctional cellulosic products

The main task of the present research work is to search for appropriate fungal strains isolated from corn cob and orange peel wastes with the potential to produce a sustainable lignocellulolytic enzyme cocktail for surface modification and post-functionalization of cellulosic substrates. In this study, seven fungal isolates were selected for the investigation of potential lignocellulolytic enzyme producers using solid-state fermentation. Fungal isolate no. 5 grown on corn cob powder showed the highest activity in producing lignocellulolytic enzymes. The activity levels of cellulases (FPU, 2.679 U/ml; CMCase, 3.071 U/ml; salicinase, 3.139 U/ml), xylanase (15.798 U/ml), pectinase (6.278) U/ml, and laccase (9.841 U/ml) were determined. Isolate 5 was identified using rRNA gene sequence ITS1 and ITS2 as Penicillium subrubescens STDF-EG (GenBank Accession Number PP151275). Penicillium subrubescens STDF-EG lignocellulolytic cocktail enzyme was used to modify the surface properties and enhance the post-functional finishing of different cellulosic substrates, namely gray cotton knitted, woven, and denim fabrics using silicone microemulsion softener and vanillin as functional additives. The extent of surface modification and post-multifunctionalization is governed by the type of substrate and enzyme dose. This study demonstrates that the suggested regime is an eco-friendly promising method for developing sustainable antibacterial/anti-UV/softer hand feel/fragrance release multifunctional properties.