Using Solid-State NMR to Understand the Structure of Plant Cellulose.

ABSTRACT: The structure of plant cellulose microfibrils remains elusive, despite the abundance of cellulose and its utility in industry. Using 2D solid-state NMR of ¹³C-labeled never-dried plants, six major glucose environments are resolved, which are common to the cellulose of softwood, hardwood, and grasses. These environments are maintained in isolated holocellulose nanofibrils, allowing more detailed microfibril characterization. We show that there are only two glucose environments that reside within the microfibril core. These have the same NMR ¹³C chemical shifts as tunicate cellulose Iβ center and origin chains, with no cellulose Iα being detected. The third major glucose site within spectral domain 1, previously assigned to the crystalline microfibril interior, is in cl

SUBMITTER: Cresswell R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12752684 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature