Micro-spectroscopic imaging of lignin-carbohydrate complexes in plant cell walls and their migration during biomass pretreatment

In lignocellulosic biomass, lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer. In plant cell walls, lignin is associated with polysaccharides to form lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC).  LCC have been considered to be a major factor that negatively affects the process of deconstructing biomass to simple sugars by cellulosic enzymes. Here, we report a micro-spectroscopic approach that combines fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to probe in situ lignin concentration and conformation at each cell wall layer. This technique does not require extensive sample preparation or any external labels. Using poplar as a feedstock, for example, we observe variation of LCC in untreated tracheid poplar cell walls. The redistribution of LCC at tracheid poplar cell wall layers is also investigated when the chemical linkages between lignin and hemicellulose are cleaved during pretreatment. Our study would provide new insights into further improvement of the biomass pretreatment process.