A raman microprobe investigation of the molecular architecture of loblolly pine tracheids

Abstract

Our understanding of the molecular architecture of intact, native plant cell walls is very limited. Traditional methods of investigation disturb the tissue to varying degrees and conclusions based on these methods may be intimately related to the technique used. A promising new technique to study native-state organization is polarized Raman spectroscopy. In this present work the macromolecular orientation and compositional variability for both cellulose and lignin in latewood cell walls of loblolly pine tracheids were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. This study has provided direct evidence of molecular organization with respect to cellular morphological features, and suggests that the cell wall components are more highly organized than has generally been recognized.

Citation

Bond, James S.; Atalla, Rajai H. 1999. A raman microprobe investigation of the molecular architecture of loblolly pine tracheids. [10th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Main Symposium, 1999 June 07-10, Yokohama, Japan]. Atlanta, GA : TAPPI Press, 1999.:p. 96-101 : ill.