Neutron reflection studies on model wax films reconstituted from chemicals

Morphological features of plant waxes vary from species to species, but little is understood about what controls these morphological changes although it is widely believed that wax morphological structures directly implicate their functional roles in protecting the plants by mediating water and nutrient transport and preventing bacterial and fungal attacks etc. However, native wheat waxes bear large topical waxy crystals whilst those of sugar beet are rather smooth. We hypothesise that these morphological features are controlled by wax composition. Our AFM imaging has confirmed the transformation with alcohol composition. The structural information from NR is unique and will provide the whole structural features across wax films. We request 4 days of Offspec/ProRef time for completing this experiment.