14.7 A Comparative Study on the Microscopic Mechanisms of Cellulose Dissolution by Sodium Hydroxide and Benzyltrimethyl Ammonium Hydroxide
Dissolving cellulose is crucial for sustainable materials development. Aqueous alkaline solutions offer economic and potential environmental advantages, but a deep understanding of their dissolution mechanism is needed for designing efficient, green technologies. Previous work often focused on hydrogen bond disruption, neglecting specific ionic roles. This study elucidates the critical functions of anionic hydroxide deprotonation, cation […]
2.7 Lignin Carbohydrate Complexes – Inferring Structure-Property Relations with Artificial Intelligence
The potential of lignin as an abundant, underutilized biopolymer is increasingly being realized. A key challenge for the targeted production of lignins remains the poorly understood relation between lignin properties and its complex structure. Novel artificial intelligence (AI) methods could reveal such structure-function relationships but remain elusive in biomaterials research. Here, we present our AI […]
13.2 Structural contributions of polysaccharide and lignin in birch glucuronoxylans towards emulsion stabilization
Despite constituting roughly one-third of wood biomass, hemicelluloses have received less attention compared to cellulose and lignin. Such lack of spotlight has largely been attributed to the difficulty in understanding their behaviour, considering that different sources, extraction methods, and post-extraction treatments lead to a high level of structural complexity of the hemicelluloses. However, their complexity […]
9.1 Deciphering Lignin Architecture: A Fluorescent Imaging Study Enabling Quantitative And Qualitative Spatial Chemotyping
Lignins display spatial and compositional changes at the nm-level between cell wall layers and cell types. These spatial modifications of lignins are essential to support the different functions of lignified tissues such as the reversible deformation of cells, their impermeable intercellular cohesion or their structural mechanical reinforcement (Pesquet et al., 2025). To date, lignins are […]
6.1 Oxidation of phenolic lignin model dimers by new fungal polyphenol oxidases
A newly recognized class of single-domain polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) in ascomycetes, termed short PPOs, can sequentially hydroxylate and oxidize guaiacyl- and, in some cases, syringyl-type compounds, leading to oxidative demethoxylation of the latter [1]. Their activity on lignin-derived compounds is novel among PPOs and the catalyzed reaction differs from canonical lignin-active oxidoreductases like laccases and […]
12.1 Functionalization of Plant Cells with Chitosan-modified Polyethyleneimine Nanoparticles
Plant cell suspension cultures provide a powerful and versatile platform for studying cellular processes and metabolic pathways in a controlled environment. Their manipulability enables targeted investigations into key physiological mechanisms, including carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake, a crucial step in photosynthesis. Enhancing these cultures with functional materials, such as nanoparticles, hold promise for improving CO2 capture […]
5.6 High-performance biodegradable nanocellulose-based packaging produced by Roll-to-Roll
A biodegradable and transparent flexible food packaging material using a nanocellulose-based biocomposite was developed. The formulation consists of nanocellulose (NC), chitosan (CS), gelatin (Gel), citrate ester (CE), and glycerol (GL), carefully designed to enhance mechanical properties, flexibility, and barrier performance while maintaining full biodegradability and transparency. Nanocellulose provides structural integrity and an ultra-low oxygen transmission […]
9.5 Advancements in 31 P NMR spectroscopy for lignin analyses: a new protocol for quantifying carbonyl groups
The content of carbonyl groups in a lignin sample is given by the sum of aldehydric, ketonic, and quinonoid groups. This data is fundamental for both technical and analytical-grade lignins. On the one hand, it is of crucial relevance for technical lignins when planning upgrade processes involving its hydrophobicity, self-assembly behaviour, and tendency to (de)polymerise. […]
8.2 Structure and water dynamics in conductive PEDOT:PSS/cellulose nanocomposite films
PEDOT:PSS is a water-dispersable and electrically conductive polymer blend that is increasingly applied in numerous fields such as batteries and super-capacitors. While many studies focus on performance optimization, degradation issues because of humid environments are rarely discussed. PEDOT:PSS absorbs significant amounts of water (~50 wt%), which leads to a pronounced film swelling factor of up […]
8.5 Interfacial water structure modulation by surface charge reversal; insight into adsorption of polymers on natural fibers
Natural fibers possess an inherent affinity for water, which significantly influences their physicochemical properties and interactions with other substances. Polymer adsorption on natural fibers is a critical process, relevant to areas ranging from plant cell wall formation to applications like papermaking, energy storage, and biosensors. Numerous studies have suggested that polymer adsorption on cellulose surfaces […]
