Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 8:30 AM
8-02
Profiling of cell wall polymers from wheat straw during pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis using novel microarrays
Ana Alonso-Simon1, Jan Bach Kristensen2, Henning Jørgensen2, Claus Felby2, Jens Øbro1, and William G.T. Willats1. (1) Department of Biosciences, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløesvej 5, Copenhagen, DK-2200, Denmark, (2) Forest and Landscape Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
The efficient release of fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic material for use in biofuel production depends on the combined effects of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. In both process steps various carbohydrate monomers and polymers are extracted from cell walls. This degradation and modification of polymers is conventionally monitored by HPLC analysis of carbohydrates in the liquid fraction. However, many of the released carbohydrates are oligosaccharides, particularly during pretreatment, and cannot be directly quantified by HPLC. In addition, it is also valuable to be able to analyse the recalcitrant degradation residue that is left after pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. We have used a recently developed technique, Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling (CoMPP, Moller et al., 2007) to track changes in specific glycans during lignocellulosic biomass degradation. CoMPP is a technique for cell wall analysis that combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the high-throughput capacity of microarrays. CoMPP analysis was performed on wheat straw material before and after hydrothermal pretreatment at four different temperatures (160, 175, 185 and 195°C ) at the DONG Energy IBUS pilot plant. In addition, we used CoMPP in combination with HPLC monosaccharide analysis to assess the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated materials using various commercial cellulases and hemicellulases.
Moller,