Takuya Akiyama　（Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo）

Analysis of the chemical structure of lignin polymer and its chemical reactivity

　Woody cell walls contain a substantial amount of lignin (20-30%). The elucidation of the polymer structure of lignin would contribute to improve the efficiency of the utilization of wood materials. If delignification can be done without undesirable structural change, almost the all components of the wood cell wall potentially can be utilized. In this study, some chemical sub-structures of lignin that are crucial to elucidate for understanding the polymer structure of lignin and its chemical reactivity will be investigated to provide fundamental new insights to improve the efficiency of the utilization of wood materials.