Application: Ecological Tracer in Stable Isotope Probing (13C SIP)

The guts of insects harbour symbiotic bacterial communities. Due to their complexity, it is challenging to relate a specific bacterial phylotype to its corresponding function. By in vivo Stable Isotope Probing (13C SIP) with U-13C cellulose and 15N urea as substrates and trophic links, the authors successfully unravelled bacterial networks recycling nitrogenous waste and processing recalcitrant dietary components.

See: Alonso-Pernas et al. 2017. Frontiers in Microbiology: 8: 291

Application: 13C Tracers in pyrolysis for biotech industry

The transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into bio-based commodity chemicals is technically possible. Fast pyrolysis, a relatively mature thermochemical technology, has now reached a commercial level, producing a high yield of an organic-rich liquid stream. However, the selectivity and recovery rates of bio-compounds remain low. To understand this, the use of fast pyrolysis microreactors is combined with mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and mixtures of unlabelled and 13C-labelled hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. The results confirm the origin of individual chemicals within the fast pyrolysis liquids.
See: Carrier et al. 2017. ChemSusChem: dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201700984.

Application: 13C Tracers in photocatalysis for biotech industry

Lignocellulose is Earth’s most abundant form of biomass that may become a renewable fuel by generating H2. Solar-driven photocatalytic reforming of lignocellulose to H2 at ambient temperature offers a sustainable process but this reaction is cumbersome. Here, we report the light-driven photoreforming of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin to H2 using semiconducting cadmium sulfide quantum dots in alkaline aqueous solution. This system presents an inexpensive route to drive aqueous proton reduction to H2 through waste biomass oxidation.

See: Wakerley et al. 2017. NATURE Energy 2: 17021.

Application: Internal standard in Chemical Analysis

Understanding the mechanisms underlying plant biomass recalcitrance can be achieved by accurate analyses of both the content and structural features of the molecules involved. We aimed at specific lignin quantification with concurrent characterization of its structural features. Hereto, we prepared a novel polymeric U-13C lignin, using it successfully as internal standard for lignin quantification by py-GC-SIM-MS.
See: Van Erven et al. 2017. Analytical Chemistry 89: 10907-16.