Standardization of the filter paper activity assay for solid substrate fermentation

The conditions of the filter paper activity (FPA) assay were standardized for solid substrate fermentation (SSF). The FPA is a relative measure of the overall cellulose hydrolysing capacity of microbial cellulase preparations, thus reliable and comparable data may be obtained only under standardized conditions. The standardization developed for submerged fermentation (SF) cannot be translated directly to SSF. In SSF, the FPA is strongly dependent on the extraction volume and on the dilution of the enzyme in the assay. The optimal extraction volume was substrate dependent in SSF of corn fiber, spent brewing grains and wheat straw for cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei Rut C30. Other cellulolytic enzyme assays (endoglucanase, beta-glucosidase and xylanase) were much less sensitive to the extraction volume.