SIMO SARKANEN 
While a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, Simo Sarkanen has overturned a 60-year-old idea about lignin structure that has blocked progress in some important areas of lignin research. As a result, his group is the only one so far that has created useful plastics containing over 90% levels of lignin. His group has also identified the first functional lignin-degrading enzyme. Consequently, he and his coworkers are uniquely qualified to demonstrate whether their new lignin plastics are biodegradable. 
 
Patents: 
Compositions Including Lignin: Chen, Y.-r.; Sarkanen, S.; Wang, Y.-Y. U.S. Patent 2018, No. 10,119,027 issued June 25. 
Compositions Including Lignin and Methods for Making the Same: Chen, Y.-r.; Sarkanen, S. 2018, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/645,940, filed March 21. 
Lignin Degrading Methods and Compositions: Chen, Y.-r.; Sarkanen, S.; Wang, Y.-Y. U.S. Patent 2017, No. 9,796,993 issued June 21. 
 
Publications (Selected Publications Relevant to Proposed Research): 
Wang, Y.-Y., Chen, Y.-r., Sarkanen, S., Blend configuration in functional polymeric materials with a high lignin content. Faraday Discuss. 2017, 202, 43-59.  
Sarkanen, S.; Chen, Y.-r.; Wang, Y.-Y., Journey to polymeric materials composed exclusively of simple lignin derivatives. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2016, 4, 5223-5229.  
Wang, Y.-Y., Chen, Y.-r., Sarkanen, S., Path to plastics composed of ligninsulphonates (lignosulfonates). Green Chemistry 2015, 17, 5069-5078.   
Chen, Y.-r., Sarkanen, S., Macromolecular replication during lignin biosynthesis. Phytochemistry 2010, 71, 453-462. 
Chen, Y.-r., Sarkanen, S., From the macromolecular behavior of lignin components to the mechanical properties of lignin-based plastics. Cellulose Chem. Technol. 2006, 40(3-4), 149-163. 
Li, Y., Sarkanen, S., Miscible blends of kraft lignin derivatives with low-Tg polymers. Macromolecules 2005, 38, 2296-2306. 
Chen, Y.-r., Sarkanen, S., Macromolecular lignin replication-a mechanistic working hypothesis. Phytochemistry Reviews 2003, 2, 235-255 2004. 
Li, Y., Sarkanen, S., Biodegradable kraft lignin-based thermoplastics. In Biodegradable Polymers and Plastics, E. Chiellini, R. Solaro (eds.), Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers: New York, 2003, pp 121-139. 
Li, Y., Sarkanen, S., Alkylated kraft lignin based thermoplastic blends with aliphatic polyesters. Macromolecules 2002, 35, 9707-9715. 
Li, Y., Mlynar, J., Sarkanen, S., The first 85% kraft lignin-based thermoplastics. J. Polym. Sci. B: Polym. Phys. 1997, 35, 1899-1910. 
 
Organization Description 
The resources in the Department of Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering along with those in the University of Minnesota Characterization Facility are sufficient to carry out the proposed research. The University of Minnesota Sponsored Projects Administration is the entity authorized by the Board of Regents to manage project agreements with LCCMR.