SBIR Phase I: Enzyme Assisted Pulping: Feasibility of Using Enzymes to Break Non-Glycosidic Ether Bonds between Xylan and Lignin

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目帮助释放森林的潜力，为国家的大部分地区提供可持续的、碳中性的原材料-S能源需求。特提斯将寻找木质素和阔叶木半纤维素木聚糖之间的乙醚键所特有的酶。合成了木聚糖-木素醚键的荧光模型，该模型在木聚糖-木素醚键断裂时发出荧光。它将被用来在缅因州森林的阔叶林腐烂地点和培养样品中进行木聚糖木质素乙醚酶(XLE)活性的生物勘探。假定的阳性将进行自发荧光、XLE溶解度和XLE辅因子要求的测试。该项目的结果将促进对乙醚酶作用机理的了解，增加对糖-木素醚键化学的了解，并有助于理解木材腐烂。这项研究的更广泛/商业影响是双重的。首先，开发一种新的、环境友好的纸浆产品工艺成为可能。新工艺还将为生物燃料和平台化学品创造新的原料。其次，新方法的开发意味着(I)木材可以满足美国S很大一部分能源需求；(Ii)用于生产乙醇的玉米可以用于食品；(Iii)纸浆和造纸厂使用的能源和工业化学品将减少；(Iv)美国S纸浆和造纸业(以及工厂所在的农村城镇)将从降低成本和增加有价值的新产品的收入中获得亟需的经济提振。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project helps unlock the potential of forests to provide sustainable, carbon-neutral raw material for much of the nation?s energy needs. Tethys will search for enzymes specific for ether bonds between lignin and the hardwood hemicellulose, xylan. A fluorogenic model of xylan-lignin ether bonds will be synthesized that fluoresces when the xylan-lignin ether bond is broken. It will be used to bioprospect for xylan lignin etherase (XLE) activity in culture collections and sites of hardwood decay in Maine forests. Putative positives will be tested for autofluorescence, XLE solubility, and XLE cofactor requirement. Results of this project will advance understanding of etherase enzymatic mechanisms, increase knowledge about the chemistry of sugar-lignin ether bonds, and contribute to the understanding of wood decay. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are two-fold. First, development of a novel, environmentally friendly process for pulp products becomes possible. The new process will also create new feedstocks for biofuels and platform chemicals. Second, the development of the new method means that (i) wood can be used to meet a significant portion of America?s energy needs; (ii) corn slated for ethanol production can be directed to food products; (iii) energy and industrial chemicals used in pulp and paper mills will be reduced and (iv) America?s pulp and paper industry (and the rural towns where mills are located) will receive a much needed economic boost from reduced costs and increased revenues from valuable new products.