Stone cells in southern pine bark: Architecture and cell wall chemistry

CELL 289

Thomas L. Eberhardt, teberhardt@fs.fed.us1, Thomas Elder, telder@fs.fed.us1, and Thomas C. Pesacreta, thomas@louisiana.edu2. (1) Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 2500 Shreveport Highway, Pineville, LA 71360, (2) Microscopy Center, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 42451, Lafayette, LA 70504
Bark utilization generally focuses on fuel value recovery or the isolation of extractives as chemical feedstock substitutes. Studies have also suggested that value-added products can be obtained through the partitioning of bark into different cell types comprising this tissue. Of particular interest are the periderm layers in southern pine bark that are rich in interlocking cog-like stone cells; these periderms function to seal off declining phloem tissues as a tree grows. Recently, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to demonstrate cellulose microfibril thicknesses and deposition patterns within wood fiber cell walls. Using AFM in an analogous manner, the nano-architecture of bark stone cells is under investigation. Aside from the practical aspects of the direct utilization of stone cells in wood-based composites, this paper will discuss the intricate nature of the periderms, and stone cells they possess, as well as characterizations of basic cell wall chemistries.
 

Nanotechnology: A Fiber Perspective
1:30 PM-4:50 PM, Thursday, April 10, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. R09, Oral

Division of Cellulose & Renewable Materials

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008