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- Title
Sporopollenin-inspired design and synthesis of robust polymeric materials.
- Authors
Glinkerman, Christopher M.; Lin, Shaoting; Ni, Jiahua; Li, Fu-Shuang; Zhao, Xuanhe; Weng, Jing-Ke
- Abstract
Sporopollenin is a mechanically robust and chemically inert biopolymer that constitutes the outer protective exine layer of plant spores and pollen grains. Recent investigation of the molecular structure of pine sporopollenin revealed unique monomeric units and inter-unit linkages distinct from other previously known biopolymers, which could be harnessed for new material design. Herein, we report the bioinspired synthesis of a series of sporopollenin analogues. This exercise confirms large portions of our previously proposed pine sporopollenin structural model, while the measured chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the synthetic sporopollenins constitute favorable attributes of a new kind of robust material. This study explores a new design framework of robust materials inspired by natural sporopollenins, and provides insights and reagents for future elucidation and engineering of sporopollenin biosynthesis in plants. Pine sporopollenin harbors unique monomeric units and inter-unit linkages forming mechanically robust and chemically inert biopolymers. Here, the authors design and synthesize several sporopollenin analogues, and characterize their chemical, thermal and mechanical properties as robust polymers.
- Subjects
SPOROPOLLENIN; PLANT spores; POLLEN; MOLECULAR structure; STRUCTURAL models
- Publication
Communications Chemistry, 2022, Vol 5, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2399-3669
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s42004-022-00729-w