A nanocluster design for the construction of artificial cellulosomesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, kinetic analysis, binding analysis of cellulose-binding domain. See DOI: 10.1039/c2cy00371f

We describe here the construction of artificial cellulosomes by nanoclustering recombinant cellulolytic modules on non-cellulosome-derived scaffolds. Catalytic and cellulose-binding domain modules derived from cellulosomes were assembled on streptavidin and on inorganic nanoparticles. Heteroclustering of the modules significantly promoted the activity of the assembled catalytic modules for degradation of water-insoluble substrates. Artificial cellulosomes were designed by reassembling independently prepared building blocks of cellulosomes in vitro on the surface of non-cellulosome-derived scaffold structures to efficiently improve the enzymes degradation activity.