Abstract
Development of a sustainable bioeconomy requires valorization of renewable resources, such as wood hemicelluloses. The intra- and inter-molecular association of hemicelluloses within themselves or with other wood components can result in complex macromolecular features. These features exhibit functionality as hydrocolloids, however macromolecular characterization of these heterogeneous materials are challenging using conventional techniques such as size-exclusion chromatography. We studied galactoglucomannans (GGM) -rich softwood extracts at two grades of purity—as crude extract and after ethanol-precipitation. Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) was optimized and utilized to fractionate size classes in GGM extracts, and subsequent characterization was performed with light scattering and microscopy techniques. Both GGM extracts contained polysaccharides of around 10,000 g/mol molar mass, and colloidal assemblies and/or particles in sub-micron size range. The optimized AF4 method facilitates the characterization of complex biomass-derived carbohydrates without pre-fractionation, and provides valuable understanding of their unique macromolecular features for their future application in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
Highlights
Development of a sustainable bioeconomy requires valorization of renewable resources, such as wood hemicelluloses
In the AF4-multi-angle light scattering (MALS) analyses, the forward monitor o in light f scattering (LS) detectors helped to correct for light absorbance due to the presence of phenolic residues r and/lignin that were heavily concentrated in some fractions of the GGM extracts
Band-pass filters in p the MALS detectors were used to crosscheck for the overestimation of molar mass arising from - fluorescence effects. re 3.1.1 Effect of channel thickness P In AF4, a spacer determines the channel thickness, which affects the separation power
Summary
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Mamata Bhattarai1*, Irina Sulaeva, Leena Pitkänen1+, Inkeri Kontro, Maija Tenkanen, Antje Potthast, Kirsi S.Mikkonen Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Finland f 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria o 3 Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland ro 4 Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Finland Journal Pre-p + Present address: Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Finland. A GGM extracts were found be a colloidal mixture of polysaccharides and particles/aggregates. Journ Presence of colloidal particles depended on purity of GGM extract
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