Joint BioEnergy Institute, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 5885 Hollis Street, Emeryville, California 94608, USA.
Biotechnol Bioeng. 2012 Mar;109(3):647-56. doi: 10.1002/bit.24348. Epub 2011 Nov 6.
Lignin composition in relation to its basic phenylpropanoid units, particularly the syringyl to guaiacyl (S/G) ratio, is an important property for biomass characterization and varies greatly as a function of species, genotype and environment. A rapid screening method is highly desirable to assess lignin composition in a large number of samples. We have developed a nondestructive and label-free Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopic method that is capable of rapidly and reliably measuring the S/G ratio with minimal sample preparation. A variety of feedstocks, including hardwood (Eucalyptus globulus), softwood (Pinus radiata), herbaceous plants (Zea mays, Panicum virgatum, and Sorghum bicolor), and a model dicot (Arabidopsis thaliana) were measured using this technique and the corresponding S/G ratio was calculated after spectral deconvolution based on the S and G bands identified using a known library of model compounds. The results obtained using this technique were successfully validated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (pyro-GC/MS). This technique holds significant promise in the rapid screening of engineered feedstocks as part of a comprehensive screening methodology that is correlated with biomass recalcitrance.
木质素的组成与其基本苯基丙烷单元有关，特别是愈创木基/丁香基（S/G）比值，是生物质特征描述的一个重要特性，其随物种、基因型和环境的变化而有很大差异。因此，人们非常希望开发一种快速筛选方法来评估大量样品中的木质素组成。我们开发了一种无损且无标记的傅里叶变换拉曼（FT-Raman）光谱方法，该方法能够在最小的样品制备下，快速可靠地测量 S/G 比值。使用该技术测量了各种原料，包括硬木（桉树）、软木（辐射松）、草本植物（玉米、柳枝稷和高粱）和模式双子叶植物（拟南芥），并根据使用已知模型化合物库识别的 S 和 G 带对光谱进行解卷积后计算出相应的 S/G 比值。该技术的结果通过热解-气相色谱/质谱（pyro-GC/MS）成功验证。该技术在作为与生物质抗降解性相关的综合筛选方法的一部分，对工程化原料进行快速筛选方面具有重要的应用前景。
