Abstract
AbstractThe volume of industrial lignin is expected to increase with the deployment of biorefineries that convert lignocellulosic biomass to renewable chemicals and fuels. Interest in using lignin for value‐added biomedical applications requires understanding of its effects on mammalian and microbial cells, which has been impaired by the toxicity of the solvents used to solubilize lignin. In this study, lignin is solvated in zwitterionic Good's buffers compatible with culture media. Up to 100 mg lignin can be solvated in 1 ml of 3‐morpholinopropane‐1‐sulfonic acid (MOPS, pH 7.2) within 60 min at room temperature, whereby MOPS acts as a chaotropic agent. The addition of MOPS‐solvated lignin to cultures of Staphylococcus aureus UAMS‐1 containing a subinhibitory concentration of tunicamycin reduced growth more than 99% compared to tunicamycin alone, making lignin of interest as an antibiotic adjuvant. This effect of lignin is attributed to damage to the bacterial cell membrane.
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