Organic materials such as flax fibres, composed of renewable biogenic carbon, is often considered to have a short lifespan, but they can last for centuries or millennia by accommodating structural and biochemical changes. Flax can be sustainable, both in terms of the environment and as a material. To better understand the secrets of its durability and its limits, two complementary studies were conducted on linen threads extracted from four paintings dated between the 17th and 18th centuries, and on linen fibres from Egypt, dated to 4000 years ago.

We developed a method exploiting the latest advances in ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS) to identify structural groups of oligosaccharides.This method is inspired by a strategy used in metabolomics, called molecular network. Classically, the strategy uses MS/MS spectra: the molecule of interest is isolated according to its mass, then broken down into fragments - akin to a structural signature of the molecule. Our approach allows the construction of molecular networks in which the mass of the fragments is replaced by their ionic mobility.

Recovering agricultural waste is an essential part of sustainable crop and food production. The aim is to reduce the negative environmental impact of waste and generate economic benefits by creating value-added products. Lignocellulosic biomasses such as walnut shells and pea pods are interesting as they represent respectively 50% and 30 to 65% of the harvested product. We have therefore evaluated them as sources of molecules of interest, in particular for the production of xylooligosaccharides, whose prebiotic activity is recognized.

Bread is a staple food in many cultures. Its honeycomb structure, and soft and crispy texture are all valued qualities. Controlling expansion in baking has relied mainly on the viscoelastic properties of the gluten network, while the variability between flour batches is smoothed with technological aids or additives. The approach is to better understand the role of flour constituents other than gluten, such as starch, in order to attempt a functionalisation using flour blends to achieve the desired expansion.