Identifying Structural Motifs in Polysaccharides for Nanotechnology and Advanced Fibre Processing

* 管理良好的森林是储存现代碳的极其重要的资源，可用于创造不与农业用地竞争的可持续消费材料。这一想法对地球的健康至关重要，因为十几年后将有另外10亿人居住在这个星球上，需要食物和能源。此外，古代埋藏的碳释放到大气中，全球变暖以及水力压裂的环境问题增加了对化石技术使用的关注。消费者对减轻环境恶性技术和高质量生物材料的兴趣，是本发现提案的推动力，旨在发展科学，从森林资源中创造高性能纤维和新的纳米颗粒。木材和农业残留物含有大量的非纤维素多糖，高达1/3重量。通过将这些材料转化为高性能纤维和纳米颗粒，为以商品为基础的森林产品行业带来附加值提供了一条独特的途径。随着石油价格的波动，影响了国家的收入，没有一个更重要的时间来重新投资于科学，导致加拿大森林产品的新技术。 该研究的目的是确定和操纵分离的多糖的分子化学如何导致纳米颗粒的组装和有组织的聚合物溶液的形成。具体来说，这项工作将提供将多糖转化为高表面积纳米颗粒的科学知识，这些纳米颗粒可能用作包装，聚合物增强和涂料/油漆的功能添加剂，以及用于强膜，催化剂载体和医疗应用的溶液纺丝多糖纤维。揭示多糖化学的基本基序如何影响材料加工及其产生的性能，将使人们能够更好地了解植物的细胞壁组装，以及开发一个平台，在这个平台上，可以从森林资源中创造出多种具有不同应用的材料。

***Well-managed forests are extremely important resources of stored modern-era carbon that can be used to create materials for sustainable consumption that do not compete with agricultural lands. This idea is central to the health of the earth as another billion people will inhabit the planet in a dozen years requiring both food and energy resources. Furthermore, the release of ancient buried carbon into the atmosphere, global warming, and the environmental issues with fracking have increased concern in the use of fossil technologies. Consumer interest in mitigating environmentally malignant technologies and the high quality materials that can be produced biologically, serve as the impetus for this Discovery Proposal to develop the science to create high performance fibres and new nanoparticles from forest resources.******Wood and agriculture residues contain non-cellulosic polysaccharides in significant mass, up to a 1/3 by weight. Utilizing these materials through the conversion into high performance fibres and nanoparticles provides a unique route to bring additional value for the commodity-based forest products industry. With the price of oil fluctuating, impacting revenues for the nation, there has not been a more important time to re-invest in the science that leads to new technologies for products from Canadians forests. The objective of the research is to determine and manipulate how the molecular chemistry of isolated polysaccharides lead to the assembly of nanoparticles and the formation of organized polymer solutions. Specifically the work will provide the scientific know-how to transform polysaccharides into high surface area nanoparticles potentially useful as functional additives for packaging, polymer reinforcement, and coatings/paints, as well as solution spun polysaccharides fibres useful for strong membranes, catalyst supports, and medical applications. Revealing how the basic motifs of polysaccharide chemistry impact material processing and the resulting performance will enable a greater understanding of the cell wall assembly of plants, as well as the development of a platform where several materials with diverse applications can be created from forest resources.**