Thomas Heinze

Bio: Thomas Heinze is an academic researcher from University of Jena. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cellulose & Ionic liquid. The author has an hindex of 70, co-authored 522 publications receiving 20446 citations. Previous affiliations of Thomas Heinze include Catholic University of Leuven & University of Bamberg.

Naturally occurring xylans structures, isolation procedures and properties

Abstract: The availability of xylan-type polysaccharides, representing an immense resource of biopolymers for practical application, is summarized. Xylans constitute 25–35% of the dry biomass of woody tissues of dicots and lignified tissues of monocots and occur up to 50% in some tissues of cereal grains. The most potential sources of xylans include many agricultural crops such as straw, sorghum, sugar cane, corn stalks and cobs, hulls and husks from starch production, as well as forest and pulping waste products from hardwoods, in particular. The structural diversity and complexity of xylans is illustrated and shown to depend on the botanic source. Various extraction procedures suitable for the isolation of xylans from different plant sources are described and compared. It is suggested that certain structural types of xylans like glucuronoxylan, arabinoglucuronoxylan, and arabinoxylan can be prepared from certain plant sources with similar chemical and physical properties. In contrast to structural analyses, the physicochemical properties, including solubility, molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, and rheological properties have been studied only for few xylan types. From the functional properties, the thermophysical and tensioactive properties are described. Finally, the physiological activities of xylans, which represent important dietary fibers as well as the immunological activities of some xylan types, are presented.

Xylan and xylan derivatives – biopolymers with valuable properties, 1. Naturally occurring xylans structures, isolation procedures and properties

Abstract: The availability of xylan-type polysaccharides, representing an immense resource of biopolymers for practical application, is summarized. Xylans constitute 25–35% of the dry biomass of woody tissues of dicots and lignified tissues of monocots and occur up to 50% in some tissues of cereal grains. The most potential sources of xylans include many agricultural crops such as straw, sorghum, sugar cane, corn stalks and cobs, hulls and husks from starch production, as well as forest and pulping waste products from hardwoods, in particular. The structural diversity and complexity of xylans is illustrated and shown to depend on the botanic source. Various extraction procedures suitable for the isolation of xylans from different plant sources are described and compared. It is suggested that certain structural types of xylans like glucuronoxylan, arabinoglucuronoxylan, and arabinoxylan can be prepared from certain plant sources with similar chemical and physical properties. In contrast to structural analyses, the physicochemical properties, including solubility, molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, and rheological properties have been studied only for few xylan types. From the functional properties, the thermophysical and tensioactive properties are described. Finally, the physiological activities of xylans, which represent important dietary fibers as well as the immunological activities of some xylan types, are presented.

Cellulose: Fascinating Biopolymer and Sustainable Raw Material

Abstract: As the most important skeletal component in plants, the polysaccharide cellulose is an almost inexhaustible polymeric raw material with fascinating structure and properties. Formed by the repeated connection of D-glucose building blocks, the highly functionalized, linear stiff-chain homopolymer is characterized by its hydrophilicity, chirality, biodegradability, broad chemical modifying capacity, and its formation of versatile semicrystalline fiber morphologies. In view of the considerable increase in interdisciplinary cellulose research and product development over the past decade worldwide, this paper assembles the current knowledge in the structure and chemistry of cellulose, and in the development of innovative cellulose esters and ethers for coatings, films, membranes, building materials, drilling techniques, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs. New frontiers, including environmentally friendly cellulose fiber technologies, bacterial cellulose biomaterials, and in-vitro syntheses of cellulose are highlighted together with future aims, strategies, and perspectives of cellulose research and its applications.

Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition.

Abstract: The Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of organic azides and alkynes has gained considerable attention in recent years due to the introduction in 2001 of Cu(1) catalysis by Tornoe and Meldal, leading to a major improvement in both rate and regioselectivity of the reaction, as realized independently by the Meldal and the Sharpless laboratories. The great success of the Cu(1) catalyzed reaction is rooted in the fact that it is a virtually quantitative, very robust, insensitive, general, and orthogonal ligation reaction, suitable for even biomolecular ligation and in vivo tagging or as a polymerization reaction for synthesis of long linear polymers. The triazole formed is essentially chemically inert to reactive conditions, e.g. oxidation, reduction, and hydrolysis, and has an intermediate polarity with a dipolar moment of ∼5 D. The basis for the unique properties and rate enhancement for triazole formation under Cu(1) catalysis should be found in the high ∆G of the reaction in combination with the low character of polarity of the dipole of the noncatalyzed thermal reaction, which leads to a considerable activation barrier. In order to understand the reaction in detail, it therefore seems important to spend a moment to consider the structural and mechanistic aspects of the catalysis. The reaction is quite insensitive to reaction conditions as long as Cu(1) is present and may be performed in an aqueous or organic environment both in solution and on solid support.

The Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Abstract: This handbook looks to provide academics and students with a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the phenomenon of innovation. Innovation spans a number of fields within the social sciences and humanities: Management, Economics, Geography, Sociology, Politics, Psychology, and History. Consequently, the rapidly increasing body of literature on innovation is characterized by a multitude of perspectives based on, or cutting across, existing disciplines and specializations. Scholars of innovation can come from such diverse starting points that much of this literature can be missed, and so constructive dialogues missed. The editors of The Oxford Handbook of Innovation have carefully selected and designed twenty-one contributions from leading academic experts within their particular field, each focusing on a specific aspect of innovation. These have been organized into four main sections, the first of which looks at the creation of innovations, with particular focus on firms and networks. Section Two provides an account of the wider systematic setting influencing innovation and the role of institutions and organizations in this context. Section Three explores some of the diversity in the working of innovation over time and across different sectors of the economy, and Section Four focuses on the consequences of innovation with respect to economic growth, international competitiveness, and employment. An introductory overview, concluding remarks, and guide to further reading for each chapter, make this handbook a key introduction and vital reference work for researchers, academics, and advanced students of innovation. Contributors to this volume - Jan Fagerberg, University of Oslo William Lazonick, INSEAD Walter W. Powell, Stanford University Keith Pavitt, SPRU Alice Lam, Brunel University Keith Smith, INTECH Charles Edquist, Linkoping David Mowery, University of California, Berkeley Mary O'Sullivan, INSEAD Ove Granstrand, Chalmers Bjorn Asheim, University of Lund Rajneesh Narula, Copenhagen Business School Antonello Zanfei, Urbino Kristine Bruland, University of Oslo Franco Malerba, University of Bocconi Nick Von Tunzelmann, SPRU Ian Miles, University of Manchester Bronwyn Hall, University of California, Berkeley Bart Verspagen , ECIS Francisco Louca, ISEG Manuel M. Godinho, ISEG Richard R. Nelson, Mario Pianta, Urbino Bengt-Ake Lundvall, Aalborg