Review

Plant cell wall characterization using scanning probe microscopy techniques

John M Yarbrough, Michael E Himmel and Shi-You Ding^*

• * Corresponding author: Shi-You Ding Shi_you_Ding@nrel.gov

Author Affiliations

Chemical and Biosciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA

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Biotechnology for Biofuels 2009, 2:17 doi:10.1186/1754-6834-2-17

Published: 24 August 2009

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass is today considered a promising renewable resource for bioenergy production. A combined chemical and biological process is currently under consideration for the conversion of polysaccharides from plant cell wall materials, mainly cellulose and hemicelluloses, to simple sugars that can be fermented to biofuels. Native plant cellulose forms nanometer-scale microfibrils that are embedded in a polymeric network of hemicelluloses, pectins, and lignins; this explains, in part, the recalcitrance of biomass to deconstruction. The chemical and structural characteristics of these plant cell wall constituents remain largely unknown today. Scanning probe microscopy techniques, particularly atomic force microscopy and its application in characterizing plant cell wall structure, are reviewed here. We also further discuss future developments based on scanning probe microscopy techniques that combine linear and nonlinear optical techniques to characterize plant cell wall nanometer-scale structures, specifically apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy.