WWSC Seminar
Probing Polysaccharide and Enzyme Interactions with Cellulose Surfaces
Assoc. Prof. Alan Esker
Department of Chemistry
Biobased Materials Center of the Institute for Critical Technology and Science
Virginia State and Polytechnic Institute
Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
Friday February 11, 2011 at 15.00
WWSC room at Chalmers (2115)
(broadcasted by Video to WWSC room at KTH)
Information: Prof. Paul Gatenholm
Venue
The conference will be held at the conference center Näringslivets Hus, situated in the very heart of Stockholm.
Evening Events
On August 31, 2011, the City of Stockholm and Stockholm County Council invite the conference participants to a buffet at the Stockholm City Hall, beautifully situated on the waterfront of Riddarfjärden in central Stockholm. The City Hall is famous for the yearly Nobel Prize festivities.
A conference dinner will be arranged September 1, 2011 in the Stockholm archipelago.
Conference Programme
31 August – 2 September, 2011
The conference will present new research in the developments of novel materials based on wood and wood polymers, in particular of cellulose. Topics of interest include;
treatment)
The scientific program will include keynote lectures, invited and contributed papers, and posters with short oral presentations.
Key note speakers
Prof. Hiroyuki Yano “Potential of cellulose nanofiber materials”
Prof. George Jeronimidis “Natural cellulose-based hierarchies: concepts for novel materials and added functionality”
Prof. Maija Tenkanen “Potential of enzymes in the biorefining of hemicelluloses to value-added materials”
Prof. Philip Evans “Wood surface photostabilisation and coating performance”
Prof. Antonio Pizzi “Wood Welding and its applications in building and furniture”
Call for Papers
The programme is open for presentation suggestions. Please send your abstract by e-mail to Innventia, Helena Odenstig, e-mail: helena.odenstig@innventa.com, to be received not later than April 4, 2011
See www.innventia.com/iaws2011 for instructions.
Deadlines
Abstract submission: April 4, 2011.
Notification of acceptance May 4, 2011
Lignin Carbohydrate Complexes: Impact on a Forest Biorefinery
Dr. Martin Lawoko, Assistant Professor at WWSC
WWSC conference room, Teknikringen 56
Abstract
There is interest in acquiring new bulk products from renewable resources, e.g. lignocellulosic materials such as wood, which is attractive since it contains the worlds most abundant natural polymers, i.e. cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. To meet this goal, the fractionation of wood into its constitutional polymers, while preserving the unique polymeric properties of each component, is a critical step. The purity of the fractionated polymers may vary depending on the target product. In any case, the separation of wood polymers into distinct polymeric components is a challenge. One of these challenges stems from the strong associations between lignin and the hemicelluloses, commonly referred to as lignin carbohydrate complexes (LCC). To separate these two components, chemical bonds have to be cleaved as selectively as is possible, which is not an easy task from a research point of view for the following reasons:
1) Optimal methods of isolation of LCC for studies are limited
2) The exact number of bond types and the bond frequencies are still not known
3) Methods to analyze and quantify these bonds are still limited
4) From a processing point of view, conditions selective to cleavage of LC bonds are non-existent
The presentation will introduce some of the advances in research on this topic performed at KTH and at the University of Maine, as well as discuss some of the research challenges.
Wallenberg Wood Science Center researchers Assoc. Prof. Harry Brumer and Dr. Oliver Spadiut (both from KTH) and Prof. Lisbeth Olsson (Chalmers) have coauthored a paper entitled “A comparative summary of expression systems for the recombinant production of galactose oxidase.”, which was published in Microbial Cell Factories on Sept. 13.
This work represents a close collaboration in Theme 1 between the KTH and Chalmers groups on methods to optimize the production of enzymes relevant to polysaccharide and wood fiber modification.
The paper is freely available via open access through the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2859-9-68
Overview: A post-doctoral research scientist position is available in the Brumer group at the Division of Glycoscience, School of Biotechnology at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden, associated with and funded through the Wallenberg Wood Science Center. The position forms part of a dynamic research team studying fundamental aspects of polysaccharide modification and functionalisation using state-of-the-art molecular approaches.
For full information,see openings
A group of researchers, including members of the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, have succeeded in making flexible magnetic aerogels that can be compacted into stiff magnetic nanopaper using cellulose nanofibrils as templates. Their work was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Nanotechnology.
A new approach for making nanoparticle cellulose materials with ordered interconnected organic and inorganic phases on the nanoscale. The new magnetic nanoparticle cellulose material with a network of cellulose nanofibers as scaffold can be used for the production of new functional materials. It can be used for in-situ precipitation of inorganic nanoparticles within the cellulose network, to produce evenly distributed nanoparticles inside the organic matrix and to prepare nano-functuional lightweight “foam-like” materials with very low apparent density based cellulose and provide the possibilities to prepare magnetic hydrogels based on cellulose.
Because the concepts of the process are simple and nanocellulose is sustainable and readily available in large quantities from wood, the suggested route is suitable for industrial-scale production and may be used with many types of nanoparticles.
The magnetic nanoparticle cellulose material and fabrication process are envisaged to be used within a broad range of applications. In compacted film form, the magnetic material may be used against document counterfeiting, for example. Other possible applications for the material include various types of membranes and filters, sensitive electromagnetic switches, generators, magnetic actuators, etc.
The article can be obtained from
DOI-number: 10.1038/NNANO.2010.155
A new postdoctoral position is now open at Chalmers.
The research project is entitled: production and design of enzymes working on lignocellulosic material
For more information, see description under openings.
WWSC will arrange a conference 23-25 November , 2010, in Sweden with invited speakers.
Further details will be posted at a later date.
In the Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC), KTH and Chalmers will join forces in wood science research. “This is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen Swedish wood science research.” says Professor Lars Berglund, center director. The joint research center aims to build a “world-class” material research program that can support the development of new products using the Swedish forests in the long term perspective. The base is a donation from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation of SEK 120 million that will finance the first three years (2009-2011) of operations. The “guiding star” is high quality research as we believe that high quality research leads to high quality products in the long term perspective.
WWSC Seminar (Friday March 25, 2011 at 10:00) Enzyme Discovery for Modification of Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharides
WWSC Seminar
Enzyme Discovery for Modification of Plant Cell Wall Polysaccharides
Lauren McKee