Unlocking the Potential of Heunlocking the Potential of Hemicellulose-Derived Biomaterials

Polysaccharides are the most abundant biopolymers on Earth, largely as a result of the fact that they constitute both the major components of the plant cell walls that surround all plant and fungal cells, comprise the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans, and play a major role in regulating the properties of the extracellular matrix in vertebrates. Replacing petroleum-derived materials with biodegradable plant-based polymers is a key strategy towards solving to this global problem. Currently, a large quantity of naturally biodegradable products are produced from starch, which competes with food production. At the same time, plant biomass derived from sustainable non-food crops contains polymers with great potential for use as plastics and other valuable materials. Hemicellulosic polysaccharides provide a diverse set of biocompatible building blocks for polymer science and engineering. Xylan is one of the most promising lignocellulosic polymers for use as a new feedstock for biodegradable products. At the same time, it is also one of the less studied natural polymers for applications that are relevant to the synthetic plastics and polymeric materials markets. This talk will cover some of the advances being made to develop chemical and enzymatic routes toward xylan valorization for potential applications in packaging materials, super-absorbents, and pharmaceuticals.