{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T04:46:58Z","timestamp":1781585218245,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757376000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Secondary benzyl alcohols (\u03b1-OH) in lignin \u03b2-O-4 linkages are reactive sites that can trigger undesirable condensation reactions during lignin valorization processes. The selective oxidation of \u03b1-OH groups can effectively inhibit lignin condensation reactions, thereby promoting lignin depolymerization. Meanwhile, this approach increases the functionalities, which is beneficial for the design of lignin-derived functional materials. In this study, we report a chemoselective oxidation method using 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) to selectively convert \u03b1-OH groups into ketones. The reaction proceeds under ambient conditions with green DMSO as the sole solvent. Oxidation of \u03b2\u2013O\u20134 model compound (veratrylglycerol-\u03b2-guaiacyl ether, VG) revealed exceptional selectivity of this oxidation process, achieving 92% substrate conversion with 90% yield of the corresponding \u03b1-ketone product after 48\u00a0h. When applied to cellulolytic enzyme lignin, this protocol significantly increased the \u03b1-ketone content from 1.2% to 20.5% (relative to total interunit linkages), as identified and quantified by 2D HSQC NMR. The straightforward \u03b1-OH oxidation protocol demonstrates significant potential for precise lignin structure modification and rational design of lignin-derived functional materials in sustainable polymer systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1654739","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T05:51:56Z","timestamp":1757397116000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Selective and mild oxidation of \u03b1-hydroxyl groups in lignin by 2-iodoxybenzoic acid"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Fei","family":"Jiang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiming","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoli","family":"Lou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuonan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Shuai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chengke","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gee.2022.07.003","article-title":"Catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into chemicals and fuels","volume":"8","author":"Deng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Green Energy and Environ."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109768","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2020.109768","article-title":"Global lignin supply overview and kraft lignin potential as an alternative for petroleum-based polymers","volume":"123","author":"Dessbesell","year":"2020","journal-title":"Renew. 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