A Hypothesis for Cell Wall Density

Cell wall density is an important parameter with respect to the mechanical strength of cells; it is used as a predictor in wood quality studies because of its high correlation with the physical and mechanical properties of wood and paper. The approach selected for determining cell wall density reported here requires the use of interference microscopy and two-wavelength microspectrophotometry. Essentially, the density is measured by interference microscopy in each of four regions — each of the three layers of the secondary wall, and the middle lamella. These measurements provide a distribution of density across the wall and the values can be compared with the distribution of chemical constituents across the wall. However, density measured in this way is based on effective (pore free) thickness, instead of the actual or geometric thickness. The relationship between these two thicknesses is expressed in equations. The hypothesis presented is currently being used as the basis for the experimental determination of cell wall density in the Yale laboratory.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member