Although there are numerous techniques available to study lignin in its various states, they all have limitations and to extract most amount of information, a number of analytical techniques have to be jointly used. We have recently started applying a new approach to lignin analysis - namely using nano- and micro-particles of silver for study of native and residual lignins by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Silver particles were used for their unique electronic and optical properties (in this case, localized surface plasmon resonance). The SERS technique is highly sensitive and extremely selective. These attributes allow detection of small amount of lignin in presence of other constituents in a sample. For example, in wood and pulp samples, no signal from carbohydrates was detected and lignin was analyzed directly. Additionally, isolated milled-wood lignin was investigated with high sensitivity. This nano- and micro-particle based sensing could make a significant contribution to investigating lignin in difficult-to-analyze samples.
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