CELL 287 |
| Lignins are among the most inert biopolymers known. There are two reasons for their stability. First, the covalent bonds between adjacent subunits in macromolecular lignin chains are quite stable; this has been known for a long time. Second, the intermolecular noncovalent forces between aromatic residues in interacting lignin chains are quite strong; they are equivalent in magnitude to the combined effects of hydrogen bonding and aromatic stacking experienced by nucleobase pairs in DNA double-helical structures in aqueous solution. It has been only within the past two years that the strengths of noncovalent interactions between lignin substructures could be reliably estimated. The stabilization energies of such closed-shell complexes are similar to those of complexes between the corresponding open- and closed-shell substructures. Thus, their consequences are felt in many contexts ranging from the properties of lignin-based thermoplastic polymer blends to the mechanism of the final step in lignin biosynthesis. |
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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 |