Understanding the mechanisms underlying plant biomass recalcitrance at the molecular level can only be achieved by accurate analyses of both the content and structural features of the molecules involved. Current quantification of lignin is, however, majorly based on unspecific gravimetric analysis after sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Hence, our research aimed at specific lignin quantification with concurrent characterization of its structural features. Hereto, for the first time, a polymeric 13C lignin was used as internal standard (IS) for lignin quantification via analytical pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection in selected ion monitoring mode (py-GC-SIM-MS). In addition, relative response factors (RRFs) for the various pyrolysis products obtained were determined and applied. First, 12C and 13C lignin were isolated from nonlabeled and uniformly 13C labeled wheat straw, respectively, and characterized by heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and py-GC/MS. The two lignin isolates were found to have identical structures. Second, 13C-IS based lignin quantification by py-GC-SIM-MS was validated in reconstituted biomass model systems with known contents of the 12C lignin analogue and was shown to be extremely accurate (>99.9%, R2 > 0.999) and precise (RSD < 1.5%). Third, 13C-IS based lignin quantification was applied to four common poaceous biomass sources (wheat straw, barley straw, corn stover, and sugar cane bagasse), and lignin contents were in good agreement with the total gravimetrically determined lignin contents. Our robust method proves to be a promising alternative for the high-throughput quantification of lignin in milled biomass samples directly and simultaneously provides a direct insight into the structural features of lignin.

Lipid oxidation is one of the most important reasons for the compromised shelf life of food emulsions. A major bottleneck in unravelling the underlying mechanisms is the lack of methods that provide a rapid, quantitative, and comprehensive molecular view on lipid oxidation in these heterogeneous systems. In this study, the unbiased and quantitative nature of H NMR was exploited to assess lipid oxidation products in mayonnaise, a particularly oxidation-prone food emulsion. An efficient and robust procedure was implemented to produce samples where theH NMR signals of oxidation products could be observed in a well resolved and reproducible manner. H NMR signals of hydroperoxides were assigned in a fatty acid and isomer specific way. Band-selectiveH NMR pulse excitation allowed immediate and precise (RSD = 5.9%) quantification of both hydroperoxides and aldehydes with high throughput and large dynamic range at levels of 0.03 mmol/kg. Explorative multivariate data modeling of the quantitative H NMR profiles revealed that shelf life temperature has a significant impact on lipid oxidation mechanisms.

In search for increased reactivity in strain-promoted azide alkyne cycloadditions (SPAAC), the synthesis of new and more reactive cyclooctynes is of pivotal importance. To identify cyclooctynes with enhanced reactivity, without loss of stability, the synthesis and kinetic analysis of new dibenzoazacyclooctyne (DIBAC) analogues were conducted. Starting from iodobenzyl alcohol analogues and ortho-ethynylaniline various substituted dihydrodibenzo[b,f]azocines were produced. Subsequent bromination and elimination proved to be difficult depending on the aromatic substitution pattern, yielding chloro-, bromo-, and methoxy-substituted DIBACs in moderate yield. In the elimination reaction towards nitro- and Br,Cl-DIBAC, the corresponding cyclooctene was obtained instead of the cyclooctyne. Additionally, a dimethoxy-substituted DIBAC analogue was prepared following an alternative route involving light-induced deprotection of a cyclopropenone derivative. In total, four DIBAC analogues were successfully prepared showing excellent rate constants in the SPAAC reaction ranging from 0.45 to 0.9 M(-1) s(-1), which makes them comparable to the fastest cyclooctynes currently known.