a continuous spectrophotometric assay monitors the release of colored cellulose oligosaccharides during the cellulase catalyzed hydrolysis of dyed crystalline cellulose preparations . an anthraquinone derivative , remazol brilliant blue r - salt , is used to uniformly dye a variety of cellulose biopolymers without altering their respective polysaccharide conformations . the increase in dye absorbance of a cellulose filtrate is a direct measure of the total concentration of carbohydrates formed and the cellulase activity . the continuous cellulase assay has specific utility in the study of cellulase kinetics and in comparing the cellulase activities of different microorganisms .