Interaction of hemicelluloses with monolignols

Interactions of hemicelluloses, xylan and glucomannan, with monolignols, coniferyl alcohol and sinapyl alcohol, and their glucosides, coniferin and syringin, were investigated by surface plasmon resonance analysis. Hemicelluloses with different aldehyde contents, prepared by sodium periodate oxidation, were immobilized onto carboxymethyl-dextran-coated gold plates by reductive amination. The interaction of the hemicelluloses with monolignols was evaluated as weight gain of the hemicelluloses at neutral pH. Both hemicelluloses adsorbed the monolignols in much larger amounts than the corresponding glucosides. The adsorption tendency was independent of aldehyde content. These results suggest the hemicelluloses have higher affinities to the aglycons than the glucosides. Thus, the interactions of the hemicelluloses with monolignols are primarily the result of hydrophobic interactions. However, binding constants were not estimated because of the low solubility of the monolignols in the aqueous buffered solution.