CD BioSciences has established a variety of cell wall mechanics characterization techniques to provide customers with complete solutions for the research related to wood cell wall mechanics. Our fast, accurate testing techniques and professional service are trusted by our partners all over the world.

Background

Wood is a biocomposite material with a multi-scale structure and special molecular mechanics. At the macroscopic scale, wood is a naturally porous material made of cells glued together by intercellular layers. At the microscopic scale, wood cell walls can be considered natural fiber-reinforced composites with lignin and hemicellulose as the matrix and microfibrils as the reinforcing phase. At the nanoscale, wood is a biopolymeric material composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin molecules.

Since the cell wall is the actual load-bearing structure of wood and has an important influence on the macroscopic mechanical properties of the material, it is necessary to establish a complete system of cell wall mechanical characterization techniques, which can lead the study of wood mechanics from the macroscopic to the microscopic scale. Wood cell wall mechanics is becoming a hot topic of research in the field of wood science and pulp and paper production, with the cell wall as the main object of study. Furthermore, the research progress in this field has important implications for the study of plant biomechanics and engineering biomimetic materials.

Fig.1 (a) Height image and corresponding, (b) Young's Modulus image of a whole latewood cell. (Casdorff, 2017)

Our Services

Based on research advances in wood physics, tree development and some other important scientific issues in related fields, we have established a completed cell wall mechanics characterization system. We offer testing techniques that provide direct information on cell wall mechanics such as single fiber tensile techniques, zero pitch tensile techniques and nanoindentation techniques. Our services include but are not limited to:

• Systematic testing of fiber mechanical properties for a variety of plants such as wood, bamboo, and palm, and help customers build a database of mechanical properties of plant fiber cell walls.
• Nanomechanical characterization of wood cell walls by AFM studies.
• Quantitative analysis of the different effects of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin on cell wall mechanics.
• Analysis of the effect of moisture content on the different mechanical properties of wood and bamboo fibre cell walls.

Applications

• Wood mechanics and wood physics
• Functional improvement of wood
• Rapid evaluation of wood properties
• Research on engineered biomimetic materials

Our Advantages

• Professional researchers
• Multiple first-class techniques are available
• Customized experimental strategies
• Detailed characterization data

CD BioSciences has accumulated successful experience in providing high-quality cell wall biophysical analysis services to our clients over the years. Our comprehensive analytical platform allows helping our clients to analyze the mechanical properties of wood cell walls. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

1. Casdorff, K.; et al. Nano-mechanical characterization of the wood cell wall by AFM studies: comparison between AC-and QI™ mode. Plant Methods. 2017, 13(1): 1-9.

• Measurement of Turgor Pressure
• Mechanical Modeling of the Primary Plant Cell Wall