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Molecular architecture of softwood revealed by solid-state NMR.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Abstract

Economically important softwood from conifers is mainly composed of the polysaccharides cellulose, galactoglucomannan and xylan, and the phenolic polymer, lignin. The interactions between these polymers lead to wood mechanical strength and must be overcome in biorefining. Here, we use 13C multidimensional solid-state NMR to analyse the polymer interactions in never-dried cell walls of the softwood, spruce. In contrast to some earlier softwood cell wall models, most of the xylan binds to cellulose in the two-fold screw conformation. Moreover, galactoglucomannan alters its conformation by intimately binding to the surface of cellulose microfibrils in a semi-crystalline fashion. Some galactoglucomannan and xylan bind to the same cellulose microfibrils, and lignin is associated with both of these cellulose-bound polysaccharides. We propose a model of softwood molecular architecture which explains the origin of the different cellulose environments observed in the NMR experiments. Our model will assist strategies for improving wood usage in a sustainable bioeconomy.

Description

Keywords

3403 Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry, 34 Chemical Sciences

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

10

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/M015432/1)
Leverhulme Trust (RP2013-SL-008)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J014540/1)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/R018308/1)