Controlling the interaction of hemicellulose (galactoglucomannan, GGM) with cellulose by means of enzyme modification

Softwood hemicellulose (galactoglucomannan, GGM) is one of the major plant polysaccharides found in cell walls after cellulose. It makes up to 25% of the wood in Sweden, however, currently most of it is obtained as a by-product of several industrial processes and discarded in waste-stream. The aim of the project is to develop sustainable processes to biocatalytically modify GGM structure in order to transform it to a versatile and excellent renewable resource for novel high-performance products. One of such products is a coating material for wood, therefore adhesion properties of GGM to cellulose are of great interest. The focus of the present study is the influence of size and galactose substitution degree on adsorption of GGM to cellulose surface.

软木半纤维素（半乳葡甘露聚糖，galactoglucomannan, GGM）是植物细胞壁中仅次于纤维素的主要多糖类物质之一。该物质在瑞典木材中的占比可达25%，但目前其大多作为多种工业生产流程的副产物被回收，随后随废弃物流被丢弃。本项目旨在开发可持续的生物催化改性工艺，对GGM的分子结构进行改性，从而将其转化为可用于制备新型高性能产品的通用优质可再生资源。其中一类目标产品为木材用涂层材料，因此GGM与纤维素之间的粘附性能备受学界关注。本研究的核心内容为探究分子尺寸与半乳糖取代度对GGM在纤维素表面吸附行为的影响。