Abstract
The ATR FT-IR spectra of Pinus ponderosa sporopollenin isolated from pollen spores by enzymatic digestion. Sporopollenin is also isolated by solvent extraction, followed by either acidolysis with phosphoric acid, and acetolysis is reported [1]. The FT-IR spectra are supplemented by XPS data of the isolated sporopollenin samples. The enzymatically isolated sporopollenin is subjected to a variety of chemical treatments and modifications, including alkaline hydrolysis, deuteration (by both D20 and methanol-d4), sodium cyanoborohydride reduction, hydrolysis by peracetic acid, bromination, acetylization with acetone and octanal, and acid-catalyzed ketal cleavage. The sporopollenin isolated by acidolysis and acetolysis are also subjected to alkaline hydrolysis. The sporopollenin samples are compared to a variety of model compounds representative of putative structural constituents and functional groups.