Publications by authors named "Ute Henniges"

The effect of the degradation induced by the solvents for cellulose cuoxam and cadoxen and its dependency on the nature of the carbonyls in oxidatively-damaged cellulosics was investigated by combining a novel approach of sample regeneration and gel permeation chromatography coupled with carbonyl-selective labelling for reliable molecular characterization. The type of cellulosic pulp, degree and mode of oxidation and dissolution time were considered. Results show that the main discriminating factors in determining the degradation of oxidatively-damaged celluloses in alkaline dissolving media are: (1) the type of pulp, i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Iron gall inks are known to be detrimental to the permanence of historic documents. Among the transition metals present, copper is the greatest threat and an open challenge due to the lack of Cu-specific treatments. In this study, we address the inhibition of copper by comparing extraction (a newly proposed glucose-based treatment) vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

5,8-Dihydroxy-[1,4]-naphthoquinone (DHNQ) is one of the key chromophores in cellulosic materials. Its almost ubiquitous presence in cellulosic materials makes it a target molecule of the pulp and paper industry's bleaching efforts. In the presented study, DHNQ was treated with hydrogen peroxide under alkaline conditions at pH 10, resembling the conditions of industrial hydrogen peroxide bleaching (P stage).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The lack of simple differentiation of all-polysaccharide-film components in nanoscale hinders unveiling their structure-property dependency. Submicron hierarchy of films of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and carbohydrate-based additives was revealed via visualization of the components by their differentiating adhesion to an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tip. The differentiation of the film components revealed that distribution of hydroxypropylated hemicellulose in the CNF matrix could be tuned by addition of a plasticizer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The water unextractable arabinoxylans (WUAX) contain beneficial phenolic compounds that can be used for food rather than for animal feed. The antioxidant activities of defatted rice bran obtained by xylanase-aided extraction is reported herein. The chemical and molecular characteristics of extracted fractions were investigated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The cleavage of the C2-C3 bond in the building units of 1 → 4-linked polysaccharides by periodate formally results in two aldehyde units, which are present in several masked forms. The structural elucidation of such polysaccharide dialdehydes remains a big challenge. Since polysaccharide derivatives are increasingly applied in materials technology, unveiling the exact structure is of utmost importance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present wetting, hygroscopicity, and interfacial activity of hemicellulose with respect to etherification and contrast it to their potential as interfacial modifiers, which is demonstrated by oil-in-water emulsification containing up to 60 vol% of the oil phase. Tunable amphiphilicity of hardwood and softwood hemicelluloses, xylans, and galactoglucomannans, respectively, was accomplished via controlled etherification. A series of degree of substitution (DS) of hydroxypropylated and 3-butoxy-2-hydroxypropylated ("butylated") grades was synthesized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The detection of individual chromophores that contribute to the overall discoloration of paper ("yellowing") is a challenge because those substances are only present in very small amounts. In this research, two analytical approaches based on ambient ionization techniques, namely, desorption electrospray ionization and paper spray, both coupled to mass spectrometry, are compared to each other with regard to their suitability for detecting acetylated cellulosic key chromophores. The paper spray approach proved to be the more sensitive and versatile method.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Advanced approaches to wound healing have attracted much attention in the last decades due to the use of novel types of dressings that provide a moist environment and take an active part in wound protection and tissue regeneration processes. The materials for novel wound dressings should have a set of features that will contribute to efficient skin recovery. The use of bacterial cellulose (BC) is attractive for advanced wound management because of the favorable characteristics of BC, such as its biocompatibility, non-toxicity, mechanical stability, and high moisture content.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The dissolution behaviour of disassociated cellulosic materials in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) was investigated. The parameters monitored were chromatographic elution profiles and recovered mass by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with RI detection. In order to elucidate the impact of the disassembly on cellulosic fibres, comparative studies were performed with the non-disassociated cellulose counterparts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The irradiation of pulp is of interest from different perspectives. Mainly it is required when a modification of cellulose is needed. Irradiation could bring many advantages, such as chemical savings and, therefore, cost savings and a reduction in environmental pollutants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Different pulp samples were irradiated by three energy sources: plasma, electron beaming, and γ radiation. The effect of increased exposure to irradiation was studied by multidetector gel permeation chromatography with fluorescence labeling of carbonyl groups to quantify changes of the cellulose. Whereas plasma treatment had no effect, for gamma and electron beam the degradation primarily affects the high molar mass area.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Celluloses from different origins were dissolved stepwise in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (9% v/w; DMAc/LiCl) with the aim to study the time course of the dissolution process, completeness of dissolution in the dissolved fractions, possible discrimination effects, and differences between the celluloses. Cellulosic pulps from both annual plants and different wood species were analyzed. The obtained fractions were subject to gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with multiple detection to monitor the development of molecular mass distribution (MMD), molecular mass, and recovered mass.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF