Y. (Yvonne) Westphal: “Analytical profiling of plant cell wall polysaccharides”

  News
  Newsroom
  Archive
  Calendar
  2012
  2011
  2010
  2009
  2008
  2007
  2006
  2005
  2004
  2003
  2002
  2001
  2000
  1999
  News
  RSS
  Calendar
  Open days
  Courses
  Congresses and symposia
  PhD-graduations and speeches

8 Sep 2010 13:30
Unit: Wageningen University
Location: Aula, building 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation: Wageningen University
Promotor: prof.dr.ir. H. Gruppen (Food Chemistry)
Promotor: Prof.dr.ir. A.G.J. Voragen
Co Promotor: Dr. H.A. Schols

 Every plant cell is surrounded by a cell wall, which is responsible for the stability and flexibility of the plant tissue. The main components of each cell wall are carbohydrates such as cellulose, hemicelluloses or pectins. These carbohydrates are frequently used as dietary fibers or as gelling agents within, for example, jam production. Recently, these carbohydrates are also used as raw material in the bio-ethanol production.

It is of great importance to have a good understanding of the precise chemical structure of these carbohydrates to enable their efficient and target-oriented use. However, the complexity of these carbohydrates and their degradation products makes the detailed analysis difficult. Within this PhD research, analytical tools were developed, which could be shown to provide supplementary data compared to already existing methods. These developments will most likely facilitate the analysis of the structures of the carbohydrates derived from plant cell wall in future.
Print this activity