Effects of Dehydration in Plant Primary Cell Wall using Grazing-Incidence Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering
Open Access
- Author:
- Del Mundo, Joshua
- Graduate Program:
- Chemical Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 02, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Enrique Daniel Gomez, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Esther Gomez, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Seong Han Kim, Committee Member
Darrell Velegol, Committee Member
Phillip E Savage, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- primary cell wall
cellulose
cellulose crystal
hydration
GIWAXS
GIXD - Abstract:
- The primary cell wall controls and regulates the mechanical properties of plant tissues during growth. Characterization of the microstructure is necessary to understand plant growth and material properties. Microstructural information can be further applied to methods of cellulose breakdown, since plant cell wall is the main resource for industries such as textiles, paper, and sustainable fuels. Primary cell wall is highly hydrated, yet previous characterization has been mostly conducted on dried samples. We hypothesize that the crystalline parameters of cellulose in primary cell wall are altered after dehydration. To understand the effects of drying and reveal changes in the microstructure, we employ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) with a humidity chamber to measure the crystalline parameters of hydrated and dried primary cell wall. GIWAXS near the critical angle mitigates issues related to sample hydration, providing enhanced scattering and signal-to-noise. A humidity chamber keeps the sample hydrated with minimal interference from water. Onion epidermal peel is used as a model system for primary cell wall. We report a decrease in (110/1-10) lattice spacing and an increase in relative (110/1-10) intensity after drying. We attribute these changes to the removal of water which interacts with the hydrogen bonding network of the cellulose crystal. Our future experimental plans focus on the application of X-ray scattering techniques to characterize primary cell wall during extension, with emphasis on cellulose microfibril alignment.