Barrier performance and retrostructural modeling of the macromolecular components demonstrate new design principles for film formulations based on renewable wood hydrolysates. Hardwood hydrolysates, which contain a fair share of lignin coexisting with poly- and oligosaccharides, offer excellent oxygen barrier performance. A Hansen solubility parameter (HSP) model has been developed to convert the complex hydrolysate structural compositions into relevant matrix oxygen-permeability data allowing a systematic prediction of how the biomass should be formulated to generate an efficient barrier. HSP modeling suggests that the molecular packing ability plays a key role in the barrier performance. The actual size and distribution of free volume holes in the matrices were quantified in the subnanometer scale with Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) verifying the affinity-driven assembly of macromolecular segments in a densely packed morphology and regulating the diffusion of small permeants through the matrix. The model is general and can be adapted to determine the macromolecular affinities of any hydrolysate biomass based on chemical composition