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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312646
Research Project: Developing Technologies that Enable Growth and Profitability in the Commercial Conversion of Sugarcane, Sweet Sorghum, and Energy Beets into Sugar, Advanced Biofuels, and Bioproducts

Location: Commodity Utilization Research

Title: Multiple applications of ion chromatography oligosaccharide fingerprint profiles to solve a variety of sugar and sugar-biofuel industry problems

Author
item Eggleston, Gillian
item BORGES, EDUARDO - Fermentee Ltd

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/22/2015
Publication Date: 2/24/2015
Citation: Eggleston, G., Borges, E. 2015. Multiple applications of ion chromatography oligosaccharide fingerprint profiles to solve a variety of sugar and sugar-biofuel industry problems. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 63:2841-2851.

Interpretive Summary: Sugar crops contain a broad variety of carbohydrates that are used for human consumption as well as for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. Ion chromatography with integrated pulsed amperometric detetion (IC-IPAD), can be used to simultaneously detect mono, di, and oligosaccharides, oligosaccharide isomers, mannitol, and ethanol in complex matrices from sugar crops. Fingerprint profiles are extremely selective, sensitive, and reliable, and have been used successfully to: (i) detect very low levels of sugar crop deterioration, (ii) monitor the freeze deterioration of sugarcane, (iii) optimize sugarcane harvesting methods and cut-to-crush times, (iv) differentiate between white sugars, (v) verify the activities of carbohydrate enzymes, (vi) select yeasts for ethanol fermentations, and (vii) isolate and diagnose infections and processing problems in sugar beet factories.

Technical Abstract: Sugar crops contain a broad variety of carbohydrates used for human consumption and the production of biofuels and bioproducts. Ion chromatography with integrated pulsed amperometric detection (IC-IPAD), also known as high performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC), can be used to simultaneously detect mono, di, and oligosaccharides, oligosaccharide isomers, mannitol, and ethanol in complex matrices from sugar crops. By utilizing a strong NaOH/NaOAc gradient method over 45 min, oligosaccharides of at least 2 to 12 degrees of polymerization can be detected. This method has been successfully used to both qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the deterioration of sugarcane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum crops, caused mainly by Leuconostoc lactic acid bacteria. Fingerprint IC oligosaccharide profiles are extremely selective, sensitive, and reliable, and can detect deterioration product metabolites from as low as 100 colony forming units/mL lactic acid bacteria. The IC fingerprints can also be used to: (i) monitor the freeze deterioration of sugarcane, (ii) optimize sugarcane harvesting methods and cut-to-crush times, (iii) differentiate between white, refined sugar from sugarcane and sugar beets, (iv) verify the activities of carbohydrate enzymes, (v) select yeasts for ethanol fermentations, and (vi) isolate and diagnose infections and processing problems in sugar beet factories.