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Wang J, Marks JH, Fortenberry RC, Kaiser RI. Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH 2CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadl3236. [PMID: 38478624 PMCID: PMC10936953 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
Glyceric acid [HOCH2CH(OH)COOH]-the simplest sugar acid-represents a key molecule in biochemical processes vital for metabolism in living organisms such as glycolysis. Although critically linked to the origins of life and identified in carbonaceous meteorites with abundances comparable to amino acids, the underlying mechanisms of its formation have remained elusive. Here, we report the very first abiotic synthesis of racemic glyceric acid via the barrierless radical-radical reaction of the hydroxycarbonyl radical (HOĊO) with 1,2-dihydroxyethyl (HOĊHCH2OH) radical in low-temperature carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH) ices. Using isomer-selective vacuum ultraviolet photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry, glyceric acid was identified in the gas phase based on the adiabatic ionization energies and isotopic substitution studies. This work reveals the key reaction pathways for glyceric acid synthesis through nonequilibrium reactions from ubiquitous precursor molecules, advancing our fundamental knowledge of the formation pathways of key biorelevant organics-sugar acids-in deep space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Joshua H. Marks
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ryan C. Fortenberry
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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2
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Rodriguez LE, Altair T, Hermis NY, Jia TZ, Roche TP, Steller LH, Weber JM. Chapter 4: A Geological and Chemical Context for the Origins of Life on Early Earth. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:S76-S106. [PMID: 38498817 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Within the first billion years of Earth's history, the planet transformed from a hot, barren, and inhospitable landscape to an environment conducive to the emergence and persistence of life. This chapter will review the state of knowledge concerning early Earth's (Hadean/Eoarchean) geochemical environment, including the origin and composition of the planet's moon, crust, oceans, atmosphere, and organic content. It will also discuss abiotic geochemical cycling of the CHONPS elements and how these species could have been converted to biologically relevant building blocks, polymers, and chemical networks. Proposed environments for abiogenesis events are also described and evaluated. An understanding of the geochemical processes under which life may have emerged can better inform our assessment of the habitability of other worlds, the potential complexity that abiotic chemistry can achieve (which has implications for putative biosignatures), and the possibility for biochemistries that are vastly different from those on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Rodriguez
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA. (Current)
| | - Thiago Altair
- Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA. (Current)
| | - Ninos Y Hermis
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Department of Physics and Space Sciences, University of Granada, Granada Spain. (Current)
| | - Tony Z Jia
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Tyler P Roche
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Luke H Steller
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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3
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Ju Y, Zhang H, Wang X, Liu Y, Yang Y, Kan G, Yu K, Jiang J. Abiotic synthesis with plausible emergence for primitive phospholipid in aqueous microdroplets. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 634:535-542. [PMID: 36549202 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Phospholipids are the protective layer of modern cells, but it is challenging for the formation of phospholipids that require a simple abiotic synthesis before the advent of primitive cells. Here, we reported the abiotic synthesis for lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs) with prebiotically plausible reactants in aqueous microdroplets under ambient conditions. The LPAs formation is carried out by fusing two microdroplets streams: one contains glycerol and pyrophosphate in water and the other one contains fatty acids in acetonitrile. Compared with the bulk solution, LPAs were generated in microdroplets without the addition of catalyst and heating. Conditions of reactant concentrations and microdroplet size varied and suggested that LPAs formation occurred near or at the microdroplet surface. The LPAs formation also showed chemoselective toward on chain-length of fatty acids. Finally, the formation of LPAs underwent two-step reactions with glycerol phosphorylation eliminating one water molecule followed by esterification with fatty acids. These results also implicated that pyrophosphate functioned as both catalysts and precursors in prebiotic LPAs synthesis. The approach using fusion aqueous microdroplets has desirable features in studying the substance exchange and interaction in atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Ju
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China
| | - Hong Zhang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China.
| | - Xiaofei Wang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China
| | - Yaqi Liu
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China
| | - Yali Yang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China
| | - Guangfeng Kan
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China
| | - Kai Yu
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China
| | - Jie Jiang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, PR China.
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4
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Wang J, Marks JH, Turner AM, Nikolayev AA, Azyazov V, Mebel AM, Kaiser RI. Mechanistical study on the formation of hydroxyacetone (CH 3COCH 2OH), methyl acetate (CH 3COOCH 3), and 3-hydroxypropanal (HCOCH 2CH 2OH) along with their enol tautomers (prop-1-ene-1,2-diol (CH 3C(OH)CHOH), prop-2-ene-1,2-diol (CH 2C(OH)CH 2OH), 1-methoxyethen-1-ol (CH 3OC(OH)CH 2) and prop-1-ene-1,3-diol (HOCH 2CHCHOH)) in interstellar ice analogs. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:936-953. [PMID: 36285574 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03543j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
We unravel, for the very first time, the formation pathways of hydroxyacetone (CH3COCH2OH), methyl acetate (CH3COOCH3), and 3-hydroxypropanal (HCOCH2CH2OH), as well as their enol tautomers within mixed ices of methanol (CH3OH) and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) analogous to interstellar ices in the ISM exposed to ionizing radiation at ultralow temperatures of 5 K. Exploiting photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReToF-MS) and isotopically labeled ices, the reaction products were selectively photoionized allowing for isomer discrimination during the temperature-programmed desorption phase. Based on the distinct mass-to-charge ratios and ionization energies of the identified species, we reveal the formation pathways of hydroxyacetone (CH3COCH2OH), methyl acetate (CH3COOCH3), and 3-hydroxypropanal (HCOCH2CH2OH) via radical-radical recombination reactions and of their enol tautomers (prop-1-ene-1,2-diol (CH3C(OH)CHOH), prop-2-ene-1,2-diol (CH2C(OH)CH2OH), 1-methoxyethen-1-ol (CH3OC(OH)CH2) and prop-1-ene-1,3-diol (HOCH2CHCHOH)) via keto-enol tautomerization. To the best of our knowledge, 1-methoxyethen-1-ol (CH3OC(OH)CH2) and prop-1-ene-1,3-diol (HOCH2CHCHOH) are experimentally identified for the first time. Our findings help to constrain the formation mechanism of hydroxyacetone and methyl acetate detected within star-forming regions and suggest that the hitherto astronomically unobserved isomer 3-hydroxypropanal and its enol tautomers represent promising candidates for future astronomical searches. These enol tautomers may contribute to the molecular synthesis of biologically relevant molecules in deep space due to their nucleophilic character and high reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Joshua H Marks
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Andrew M Turner
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Anatoliy A Nikolayev
- Lebedev Physical Institute, Samara 443011, Russia.,Samara National Research University, Samara 443086, Russia
| | | | - Alexander M Mebel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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5
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Saha A, Yi R, Fahrenbach AC, Wang A, Jia TZ. A Physicochemical Consideration of Prebiotic Microenvironments for Self-Assembly and Prebiotic Chemistry. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12101595. [PMID: 36295030 PMCID: PMC9604842 DOI: 10.3390/life12101595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The origin of life on Earth required myriads of chemical and physical processes. These include the formation of the planet and its geological structures, the formation of the first primitive chemicals, reaction, and assembly of these primitive chemicals to form more complex or functional products and assemblies, and finally the formation of the first cells (or protocells) on early Earth, which eventually evolved into modern cells. Each of these processes presumably occurred within specific prebiotic reaction environments, which could have been diverse in physical and chemical properties. While there are resources that describe prebiotically plausible environments or nutrient availability, here, we attempt to aggregate the literature for the various physicochemical properties of different prebiotic reaction microenvironments on early Earth. We introduce a handful of properties that can be quantified through physical or chemical techniques. The values for these physicochemical properties, if they are known, are then presented for each reaction environment, giving the reader a sense of the environmental variability of such properties. Such a resource may be useful for prebiotic chemists to understand the range of conditions in each reaction environment, or to select the medium most applicable for their targeted reaction of interest for exploratory studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpita Saha
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
- Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University, Kolkata 700135, India
| | - Ruiqin Yi
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Albert C. Fahrenbach
- School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Anna Wang
- School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Correspondence: (A.W.); (T.Z.J.)
| | - Tony Z. Jia
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Correspondence: (A.W.); (T.Z.J.)
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6
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Zhu C, Wang H, Medvedkov I, Marks J, Xu M, Yang J, Yang T, Pan Y, Kaiser RI. Exploitation of Synchrotron Radiation Photoionization Mass Spectrometry in the Analysis of Complex Organics in Interstellar Model Ices. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:6875-6882. [PMID: 35861849 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Unravelling the generation of complex organic molecules (COMs) on interstellar nanoparticles (grains) is essential in establishing predictive astrochemical reaction networks and recognizing evolution stages of molecular clouds and star-forming regions. The formation of COMs has been associated with the irradiation of interstellar ices by ultraviolet photons and galactic cosmic rays. Herein, we pioneer the first incorporation of synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SVUV-PI-ReTOF-MS) in laboratory astrophysics simulation experiments to afford an isomer-selective identification of key COMs (ketene (H2C═CO); acetaldehyde (CH3CHO); vinyl alcohol (H2C═CHOH)) based on photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves of molecules desorbing from exposed carbon monoxide-methane (CO-CH4) ices. Our results demonstrate that the SVUV-PI-ReTOF-MS approach represents a versatile, rapid methodology for a comprehensive identification and explicit understanding of the complex organics produced in space simulation experiments. This methodology is expected to significantly improve the predictive nature of astrochemical models of complex organic molecules formed abiotically in deep space, including biorelated species linked to the origins-of-life topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zhu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Ma̅noa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Hailing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, P.R. China
| | - Iakov Medvedkov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Ma̅noa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Joshua Marks
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Ma̅noa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Minggao Xu
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, P.R. China
| | - Jiuzhong Yang
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, P.R. China
| | - Tao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, P.R. China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, P.R. China
| | - Yang Pan
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, P.R. China
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Ma̅noa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
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7
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He C, Thomas AM, Dangi BB, Yang T, Kaiser RI, Lee HC, Sun BJ, Chang AHH. Formation of the Elusive Silylenemethyl Radical (HCSiH 2; X 2B 2) via the Unimolecular Decomposition of Triplet Silaethylene (H 2CSiH 2; a 3A″). J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:3347-3357. [PMID: 35584043 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c01853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the formation of small organosilicon molecules─potential precursors to silicon-carbide dust grains ejected by dying carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars─in the gas phase via the reaction of atomic carbon (C) in its 3P electronic ground state with silane (SiH4; X1A1) using the crossed molecular beams technique. The reactants collided under single collision conditions at a collision energy of 13.0 ± 0.2 kJ mol-1, leading to the formation of the silylenemethyl radical (HCSiH2; X2B2) via the unimolecular decomposition of triplet silaethylene (H2CSiH2; a3A″). The silaethylene radical was formed via hydrogen migration of the triplet silylmethylene (HCSiH3; X3A″) radical, which in turn was identified as the initial collision complex accessed via the barrierless insertion of atomic carbon into the silicon-hydrogen bond of silane. Our results mark the first observation of the silylenemethyl radical, where previously only its thermodynamically more stable methylsilylidyne (CH3Si; X2A″) and methylenesilyl (CH2SiH; X2A') isomers were observed in low-temperature matrices. Considering the abundance of silane and the availability of atomic carbon in carbon-rich circumstellar environments, our results suggest that future astrochemical models should be updated to include contributions from small saturated organosilicon molecules as potential precursors to pure gaseous silicon-carbides and ultimately to silicon-carbide dust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao He
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Aaron M Thomas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Beni B Dangi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Tao Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Huan-Cheng Lee
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan
| | - Bing-Jian Sun
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan
| | - Agnes H H Chang
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan
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8
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M Wallace A, C Fortenberry R. Computational UV spectra for amorphous solids of small molecules. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:24413-24420. [PMID: 34693942 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp03255k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Ices in the interstellar medium largely exist as amorphous solids composed of small molecules including ammonia, water, and carbon dioxide. Describing gas-phase molecules can be readily accomplished with current high-level quantum chemical calculations with the description of crystalline solids becoming more readily accomplished. Differently, amorphous solids require more novel approaches. The present work describes a method for generating amorphous structures and constructing electronic spectra through a combination of quantum chemical calculations and statistical mechanics. The structures are generated through a random positioning program and DFT methods, such as ωB97-XD and CAM-B3LYP. A Boltzmann distribution weights the excitations to compile a final spectrum from a sampling of molecular clusters. Three ice analogs are presented herein consisting of ammonia, carbon dioxide, and water. Ammonia and carbon dioxide provide semi-quantitative agreement with experiment for CAM-B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) from 30 clusters of 8 molecules. Meanwhile, the amorphous water description improves when the sample size is increased in cluster size and count to as many as 105 clusters of 32 water molecules. The described methodology can produce highly comparative descriptions of electronic spectra for ice analogs and can be used to predict electronic spectra for other ice analogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin M Wallace
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677-1848, USA.
| | - Ryan C Fortenberry
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677-1848, USA.
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Volosatova AD, Lukianova MA, Zasimov PV, Feldman VI. Direct evidence for a radiation-induced synthesis of acetonitrile and isoacetonitrile from a 1 : 1 CH 4HCN complex at cryogenic temperatures: is it a missing link between inorganic and prebiotic astrochemistry? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:18449-18460. [PMID: 34612385 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp01598b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nitriles are important constituents of extraterrestrial media. Nitriles are supposed to play a crucial role in prebiotic chemistry occurring in the interstellar medium. In this work, we have investigated the low-temperature radiation-induced transformations of a 1 : 1 CH4HCN complex as a plausible precursor of the simplest nitriles using the matrix isolation approach with FTIR spectroscopic detection. The parent complexes isolated in a noble gas (Ng) matrix were obtained by deposition of the CH4/HCN/Ng gaseous mixture and characterized by comparison of experimental complexation-induced shifts of the HCN fundamentals with the results of the ab initio calculations. It was found that the X-ray irradiation of low-temperature matrices containing the isolated 1 : 1 CH4HCN complex resulted in the formation of acetonitrile (CH3CN) and isoacetonitrile (CH3NC) and it appears to be the first experimental evidence for the formation of C2 nitriles (acetonitrile and isoacetonitrile) from such a "building block". Additionally, a 1 : 1 CH4HNC complex was tentatively assigned to the irradiated Ar and Kr matrices. It is demonstrated that the matrix has a strong effect on the CH3CN/CH3NC yield ratio, which dramatically increases in the row Ar < Kr < Xe. Also, the efficiency of the radiation-induced formation of the CH4HNC complex was shown to decrease from Ar to Kr. It is believed that the proposed pathway for acetonitrile formation may be a significant step in the radiation-induced evolution leading to complex organic molecules and biomolecules under astrochemical conditions. Furthermore, the obtained results provide a prominent example of the impact of very weak intermolecular interactions on the radiation-induced transformations in cold media.
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10
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Kleimeier NF, Eckhardt AK, Kaiser RI. Identification of Glycolaldehyde Enol (HOHC═CHOH) in Interstellar Analogue Ices. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:14009-14018. [PMID: 34407613 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c07978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Glycolaldehyde is considered the entry point in the aqueous prebiotic formose (Butlerow) reaction although it mainly exists in its unreactive hydrated form in aqueous solution. The characterization of the more reactive nucleophilic enol form under interstellar conditions has remained elusive to date. Here we report on the identification of glycolaldehyde enol (1,2-ethenediol, HOHC═CHOH) in low temperature methanol-bearing ices at temperatures as low as 5 K. Exploiting isotope labeling and isomer-selective photoionization coupled with reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry, our results unravel distinct reaction pathways to 1,2-ethenediol, thus demonstrating the kinetic stability, availability for prebiotic sugar formation, and potential detectability in deep space.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Fabian Kleimeier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States.,W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - André K Eckhardt
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States.,W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
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11
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Kleimeier NF, Kaiser RI. Interstellar Enolization-Acetaldehyde (CH 3 CHO) and Vinyl Alcohol (H 2 CCH(OH)) as a Case Study. Chemphyschem 2021; 22:1229-1236. [PMID: 33913232 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202100111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Owing to the unique conditions in cold molecular clouds, enols-the thermodynamically less stable tautomers of aldehydes and ketones-do not undergo tautomerization to their more stable tautomers in the gas phase because they cannot overcome tautomerization barriers at the low temperatures. Laboratory studies of interstellar analog ices have demonstrated the formation of several keto-enol tautomer pairs in astrochemically relevant ice mixtures over the last years. However, so far only one of them, acetaldehyde-vinyl alcohol, has been detected in deep space. Due to their reactivity with electrophiles, enols can play a crucial role in our understanding of the molecular complexity in the interstellar medium and in comets and meteorites. To study the enolization of aldehydes in interstellar ices by interaction with galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), we irradiated acetaldehyde ices with energetic electrons as proxies of secondary electrons generated in the track of GCRs while penetrating interstellar ices. The results indicate that GCRs can induce enolization of acetaldehyde and that intra- as well as intermolecular processes are relevant. Therefore, enols should be ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and could be searched for using radio telescopes such as ALMA. Once enols are detected and abundances are established, they can serve as tracers for the non-equilibrium chemistry in interstellar ices thus eventually constraining fundamental reaction mechanisms deep inside interstellar ices.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Fabian Kleimeier
- Department of Chemistry and W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry and W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2545 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
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12
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The Role of Glycerol and Its Derivatives in the Biochemistry of Living Organisms, and Their Prebiotic Origin and Significance in the Evolution of Life. Catalysts 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/catal11010086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence and evolution of prebiotic biomolecules on the early Earth remain a question that is considered crucial to understanding the chemistry of the origin of life. Amongst prebiotic molecules, glycerol is significant due to its ubiquity in biochemistry. In this review, we discuss the significance of glycerol and its various derivatives in biochemistry, their plausible roles in the origin and evolution of early cell membranes, and significance in the biochemistry of extremophiles, followed by their prebiotic origin on the early Earth and associated catalytic processes that led to the origin of these compounds. We also discuss various scenarios for the prebiotic syntheses of glycerol and its derivates and evaluate these to determine their relevance to early Earth biochemistry and geochemistry, and recapitulate the utilization of various minerals (including clays), condensation agents, and solvents that could have led to the successful prebiotic genesis of these biomolecules. Furthermore, important prebiotic events such as meteoritic delivery and prebiotic synthesis reactions under astrophysical conditions are also discussed. Finally, we have also highlighted some novel features of glycerol, including glycerol nucleic acid (GNA), in the origin and evolution of the life.
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Turner AM, Kaiser RI. Exploiting Photoionization Reflectron Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry to Explore Molecular Mass Growth Processes to Complex Organic Molecules in Interstellar and Solar System Ice Analogs. Acc Chem Res 2020; 53:2791-2805. [PMID: 33258604 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
ConspectusThis Account presents recent advances in our understanding on the formation pathways of complex organic molecules (COMs) within interstellar analog ices on ice-coated interstellar nanoparticles upon interaction with ionizing radiation exploiting reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ReTOF-MS) coupled with tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) single photon ionization (PI) and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of the subliming molecules during the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) phase. Laboratory simulation experiments provided compelling evidence that key classes of complex organics (aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, enols, ketones, and carboxylic acids) can be synthesized upon exposure of astrophysically relevant model ices to ionizing radiation within and throughout the ices at temperatures as low as 5 K.Molecular mass growth processes can be initiated by suprathermal or electronically excited reactants along with barrierless radical-radical recombination if both radicals hold a proper recombination geometry. Methyl (CH3), amino (NH2), hydroxyl (OH), ethyl (C2H5), vinyl (C2H3), ethynyl (C2H), formyl (HCO), hydroxycarbonyl (HOCO), hydroxymethyl (CH2OH), methoxy (CH3O), and acetyl (CH3CO) represent readily available reactants for radical-radical recombination within the ices. Reactive singlet species were found to insert without barrier into carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon single bonds (carbene) leading to an extension of the carbon chain and may add to carbon-carbon double bonds (carbene, atomic oxygen) forming cyclic reaction products. These galactic cosmic ray-triggered nonequilibrium pathways overcome previous obstacles of hypothesized thermal grain-surface processes and operate throughout the ice at 5 K. Our investigations discriminate between multiple structural isomers such as alcohols/ethers, aldehydes/enols, and cyclic/acyclic carbonyls. These data provide quantitative, isomer selective input parameters for a cosmic ray-dictated formation of complex organics in interstellar ices and are fully able to replicate the astronomical observations of complex organics over typical lifetimes of molecular clouds of a few 106 to 107 years. Overall, PI-ReTOF-MS revealed that the processing of astrophysically relevant ices can lead to multifaceted mixtures of organics reaching molecular weights of up to 200 amu. Further advances in laboratory techniques beyond the FTIR-QMS limit are clearly desired not only to confidently assign detection in laboratory ice analog experiments of increasingly more complex molecules of interest but also from the viewpoint of future astronomical searches in the age of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Turner
- Department of Chemistry and W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry and W.M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
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Núñez-Pertíñez S, Wilks TR. Deep Eutectic Solvents as Media for the Prebiotic DNA-Templated Synthesis of Peptides. Front Chem 2020; 8:41. [PMID: 32083058 PMCID: PMC7005209 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Translation of genetic information into peptide products is one of the fundamental processes of biology. How this occurred prebiotically, in the absence of enzyme catalysts, is an intriguing question. Nucleic acid-templated synthesis (NATS) promotes reactions by bringing building blocks tethered to complementary DNA strands into close proximity and has been shown to enable peptide synthesis without enzymes—it could therefore serve as a model for prebiotic translation of information stored in nucleic acid sequences into functional peptides. The decomposition of highly reactive DNA adapters has so far limited the effectiveness of NATS, but these studies have been performed exclusively in aqueous solution. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been proposed as a feasible solvent for prebiotic replication of nucleic acids, and here are studied as media for prebiotic translation using NATS as a model. DESs are shown to enhance the stability of DNA-conjugated activated esters, the precursors of peptides. However, this enhanced stability was coupled with decreased amine reactivity that hampered the formation of peptide bonds in DESs. These properties are exploited to demonstrate the storage of DNA-conjugated activated esters in a DES followed by transfer into aqueous buffer to activate the NATS of peptides “on demand.” These findings, together with the reported functions of DESs in prebiotic processes, shed light on how DESs could have facilitated the non-enzymatic translation of genetic information into functional peptides on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas R Wilks
- School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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He C, Lozoya-Colinas A, Gállego I, Grover MA, Hud NV. Solvent viscosity facilitates replication and ribozyme catalysis from an RNA duplex in a model prebiotic process. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 47:6569-6577. [PMID: 31170298 PMCID: PMC6649698 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The RNA World hypothesis posits that RNA was once responsible for genetic information storage and catalysis. However, a prebiotic mechanism has yet to be reported for the replication of duplex RNA that could have operated before the emergence of polymerase ribozymes. Previously, we showed that a viscous solvent enables information transfer from one strand of long RNA duplex templates, overcoming ‘the strand inhibition problem'. Here, we demonstrate that the same approach allows simultaneous information transfer from both strands of long duplex templates. An additional challenge for the RNA World is that structured RNAs (like those with catalytic activity) function poorly as templates in model prebiotic RNA synthesis reactions, raising the question of how a single sequence could serve as both a catalyst and as a replication template. Here, we show that a viscous solvent also facilitates the transition of a newly synthesized hammerhead ribozyme sequence from its inactive, duplex state to its active, folded state. These results demonstrate how fluctuating environmental conditions can allow a ribozyme sequence to alternate between acting as a template for replication and functioning as a catalyst, and illustrate the potential for temporally changing environments to enable molecular processes necessary for the origin of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine He
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0100, USA
| | - Adriana Lozoya-Colinas
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA
| | - Isaac Gállego
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA
| | - Martha A Grover
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0100, USA
| | - Nicholas V Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400, USA
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16
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Wolf ME, Hoobler PR, Turney JM, Schaefer HF. Important features of the potential energy surface of the methylamine plus O( 1D) reaction. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:24194-24205. [PMID: 31659355 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp05039f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This research presents an ab initio characterization of the potential energy surface for the methylamine plus 1D oxygen atom reaction, which may be relevant to interstellar chemistry. Geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies were determined for all stationary points at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The focal point method along with several additive corrections was used to obtain reliable CCSDT(Q)/CBS potential energy surface features. Extensive conformational analysis and intrinsic reaction coordinate computations were performed to ensure accurate chemical connectivity of the stationary points. Five minima were determined to be possible products of this reaction and three novel transition states were found that were previously unreported or mislabeled in the literature. The pathways we present can be used to guide further searches for NH2 containing species in the interstellar medium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Wolf
- Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry, University of Georgia, 140 Cedar Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
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Oba Y, Takano Y, Naraoka H, Watanabe N, Kouchi A. Nucleobase synthesis in interstellar ices. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4413. [PMID: 31562325 PMCID: PMC6764953 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12404-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The synthesis of nucleobases in natural environments, especially in interstellar molecular clouds, is the focus of a long-standing debate regarding prebiotic chemical evolution. Here we report the simultaneous detection of all three pyrimidine (cytosine, uracil and thymine) and three purine nucleobases (adenine, xanthine and hypoxanthine) in interstellar ice analogues composed of simple molecules including H2O, CO, NH3 and CH3OH after exposure to ultraviolet photons followed by thermal processes, that is, in conditions that simulate the chemical processes accompanying star formation from molecular clouds. Photolysis of primitive gas molecules at 10 K might be one of the key steps in the production of nucleobases. The present results strongly suggest that the evolution from molecular clouds to stars and planets provides a suitable environment for nucleobase synthesis in space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Oba
- Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS), Hokkaido University, N19W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0819, Japan.
| | - Yoshinori Takano
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan.,Biogeochemistry Program, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Naraoka
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.,Research Center for Planetary Trace Organic Compounds, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Naoki Watanabe
- Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS), Hokkaido University, N19W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0819, Japan
| | - Akira Kouchi
- Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS), Hokkaido University, N19W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0819, Japan
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Abplanalp MJ, Kaiser RI. On the formation of complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium: untangling the chemical complexity of carbon monoxide-hydrocarbon containing ice analogues exposed to ionizing radiation via a combined infrared and reflectron time-of-flight analysis. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:16949-16980. [PMID: 31339133 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp01793c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Recently, over 200 molecules have been detected in the interstellar medium (ISM), with about one third being complex organic molecules (COMs), molecules containing six or more atoms. Over the last few decades, astrophysical laboratory experiments have shown that several COMs are formed via interaction of ionizing radiation within ices deposited on interstellar dust particles at 10 K (H2O, CH3OH, CO, CO2, CH4, NH3). However, there is still a lack of understanding of the chemical complexity that is available through individual ice constituents. The present research investigates experimentally the synthesis of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen bearing COMs from interstellar ice analogues containing carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), ethylene (C2H4), or acetylene (C2H2) exposed to ionizing radiation. Utilizing online and in situ techniques, such as infrared spectroscopy and tunable photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReTOF-MS), specific isomers produced could be characterized. A total of 12 chemically different groups were detected corresponding to C2HnO (n = 2, 4, 6), C3HnO (n = 2, 4, 6, 8), C4HnO (n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C5HnO (n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C6HnO (n = 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14), C2HnO2 (n = 2, 4), C3HnO2 (n = 4, 6, 8), C4HnO2 (n = 4, 6, 8, 10), C5HnO2 (n = 6, 8), C6HnO2 (n = 8, 10, 12), C4HnO3 (n = 4, 6, 8), and C5HnO3 (n = 6, 8). More than half of these isomer specifically identified molecules have been identified in the ISM, and the remaining COMs detected here can be utilized to guide future astronomical observations. Of these isomers, three groups - alcohols, aldehydes, and molecules containing two of these functional groups - displayed varying degrees of unsaturation. Also, the detection of 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanal, and 2-methyl-propanal has significant implications as the propyl and isopropyl moieties (C3H7), which have already been detected in the ISM via propyl cyanide and isopropyl cyanide, could be detected in our laboratory studies. General reaction mechanisms for their formation are also proposed, with distinct follow-up studies being imperative to elucidate the complexity of COMs synthesized in these ices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Abplanalp
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. and Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. and Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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Turner AM, Abplanalp MJ, Bergantini A, Frigge R, Zhu C, Sun BJ, Hsiao CT, Chang AHH, Meinert C, Kaiser RI. Origin of alkylphosphonic acids in the interstellar medium. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaaw4307. [PMID: 31457085 PMCID: PMC6685711 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw4307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
For decades, the source of phosphorus incorporated into Earth's first organisms has remained a fundamental, unsolved puzzle. Although contemporary biomolecules incorporate P(+V) in their phosphate moieties, the limited bioavailability of phosphates led to the proposal that more soluble P(+III) compounds served as the initial source of phosphorus. Here, we report via laboratory simulation experiments that the three simplest alkylphosphonic acids, soluble organic phosphorus P(+III) compounds, can be efficiently generated in interstellar, phosphine-doped ices through interaction with galactic cosmic rays. This discovery opens a previously overlooked avenue into the formation of key molecules of astrobiological significance and untangles basic mechanisms of a facile synthesis of phosphorus-containing organics in extraterrestrial ices, which can be incorporated into comets and asteroids before their delivery and detection on Earth such as in the Murchison meteorite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Turner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Matthew J. Abplanalp
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Alexandre Bergantini
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Robert Frigge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Cheng Zhu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Bing-Jian Sun
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Ta Hsiao
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Agnes H. H. Chang
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Université Côte d’Azur, Institut de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272 CNRS, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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Abplanalp MJ, Góbi S, Kaiser RI. On the formation and the isomer specific detection of methylacetylene (CH 3CCH), propene (CH 3CHCH 2), cyclopropane (c-C 3H 6), vinylacetylene (CH 2CHCCH), and 1,3-butadiene (CH 2CHCHCH 2) from interstellar methane ice analogues. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:5378-5393. [PMID: 30221272 DOI: 10.1039/c8cp03921f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Pure methane (CH4) ices processed by energetic electrons under ultra-high vacuum conditions to simulate secondary electrons formed via galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) penetrating interstellar ice mantles have been shown to produce an array of complex hydrocarbons with the general formulae: CnH2n+2 (n = 4-8), CnH2n (n = 3-9), CnH2n-2 (n = 3-9), CnH2n-4 (n = 4-9), and CnH2n-6 (n = 6-7). By monitoring the in situ chemical evolution of the ice combined with temperature programmed desorption (TPD) studies and tunable single photon ionization coupled to a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer, specific isomers of C3H4, C3H6, C4H4, and C4H6 were probed. These experiments confirmed the synthesis of methylacetylene (CH3CCH), propene (CH3CHCH2), cyclopropane (c-C3H6), vinylacetylene (CH2CHCCH), 1-butyne (HCCC2H5), 2-butyne (CH3CCCH3), 1,2-butadiene (H2CCCH(CH3)), and 1,3-butadiene (CH2CHCHCH2) with yields of 2.17 ± 0.95 × 10-4, 3.7 ± 1.5 × 10-3, 1.23 ± 0.77 × 10-4, 1.28 ± 0.65 × 10-4, 4.01 ± 1.98 × 10-5, 1.97 ± 0.98 × 10-4, 1.90 ± 0.84 × 10-5, and 1.41 ± 0.72 × 10-4 molecules eV-1, respectively. Mechanistic studies exploring the formation routes of methylacetylene, propene, and vinylacetylene were also conducted, and revealed the additional formation of the 1,2,3-butatriene isomer. Several of the above isomers, methylacetylene, propene, vinylacetylene, and 1,3-butadiene, have repeatedly been shown to be important precursors in the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but until now their interstellar synthesis has remained elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Abplanalp
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
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21
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Prebiotic chemistry in neutral/reduced-alkaline gas-liquid interfaces. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1916. [PMID: 30760732 PMCID: PMC6374446 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36579-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The conditions for the potential abiotic formation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors have great implications for our understanding of the origin of life on Earth and for its possible detection in other environments of the Solar System. It is known that aerosol-interfaces are effective at enhancing prebiotic chemical reactions, but the roles of salinity and pH have been poorly investigated to date. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the uniqueness of alkaline aerosols as prebiotic reactors that produce an undifferentiated accumulation of a variety of multi-carbon biomolecules resulting from high-energy processes (in our case, electrical discharges). Using simulation experiments, we demonstrate that the detection of important biomolecules in tholins increases when plausible and particular local planetary environmental conditions are simulated. A greater diversity in amino acids, carboxylic acids, N-heterocycles, and ketoacids, such as glyoxylic and pyruvic acid, was identified in tholins synthetized from reduced and neutral atmospheres in the presence of alkaline aqueous aerosols than that from the same atmospheres but using neutral or acidic aqueous aerosols.
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Cooper G, Rios AC, Nuevo M. Monosaccharides and Their Derivatives in Carbonaceous Meteorites: A Scenario for Their Synthesis and Onset of Enantiomeric Excesses. Life (Basel) 2018; 8:life8030036. [PMID: 30150578 PMCID: PMC6161268 DOI: 10.3390/life8030036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbonaceous meteorites provide the best glimpse into the solar system’s earliest physical and chemical processes. These ancient objects, ~4.56 billion years old, contain evidence of phenomena ranging from solar system formation to the synthesis of organic compounds by aqueous and (likely) low-temperature photolytic reactions. Collectively, chemical reactions resulted in an insoluble kerogen-like carbon phase and a complex mixture of discrete soluble compounds including amino acids, nucleobases, and monosaccharide (or “sugar”) derivatives. This review presents the documented search for sugars and their derivatives in carbonaceous meteorites. We examine early papers, published in the early 1960s, and note the analytical methods used for meteorite analysis as well as conclusions on the results. We then present the recent finding of sugar derivatives including sugar alcohols and several sugar acids: The latter compounds were found to possess unusual “d” enantiomeric (mirror-image) excesses. After discussions on the possible roles of interstellar grain chemistry and meteorite parent body aqueous activity in the synthesis of sugar derivatives, we present a scenario that suggests that most of Earth’s extraterrestrial sugar alcohols (e.g., glycerol) were synthesized by interstellar irradiation and/or cold grain chemistry and that the early solar disk was the location of the initial enantiomeric excesses in meteoritic sugar derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Cooper
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
| | - Andro C Rios
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
- Blue Marble Space, 1001 4th Ave, Ste 3201, Seattle, WA 98154, USA.
| | - Michel Nuevo
- NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
- Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
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Ralf I. Kaiser. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201800440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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24
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Ralf I. Kaiser. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201800440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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25
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Góbi S, Crandall PB, Maksyutenko P, Förstel M, Kaiser RI. Accessing the Nitromethane (CH3NO2) Potential Energy Surface in Methanol (CH3OH)–Nitrogen Monoxide (NO) Ices Exposed to Ionizing Radiation: An FTIR and PI-ReTOF-MS Investigation. J Phys Chem A 2018; 122:2329-2343. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.7b12235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sándor Góbi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
- W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Parker B. Crandall
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
- W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Pavlo Maksyutenko
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
- W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Marko Förstel
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
- W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
- W. M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawai‘i at Ma̅noa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, United States
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Turner AM, Abplanalp MJ, Blair TJ, Dayuha R, Kaiser RI. An Infrared Spectroscopic Study Toward the Formation of Alkylphosphonic Acids and Their Precursors in Extraterrestrial Environments. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL. SUPPLEMENT SERIES 2018; 234:6. [PMID: 30842689 PMCID: PMC6398957 DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/aa9183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The only known phosphorus-containing organic compounds of extraterrestrial origin, alkylphosphonic acids, were discovered in the Murchison meteorite and have accelerated the hypothesis that reduced oxidation states of phosphorus were delivered to early Earth and served as a prebiotic source of phosphorus. While previous studies looking into the formation of these alkylphosphonic acids have focused on the iron-nickel phosphide mineral schreibersite and phosphorous acid as a source of phosphorus, this work utilizes phosphine (PH3), which has been discovered in the circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216, in the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn, and believed to be the phosphorus carrier in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Phosphine ices prepared with interstellar molecules such as carbon dioxide, water, and methane were subjected to electron irradiation, which simulates the secondary electrons produced from galactic cosmic rays penetrating the ice, and probed using infrared spectroscopy to understand the possible formation of alkylphosphonic acids and their precursors on interstellar icy grains that could become incorporated into meteorites such as Murchison. We present the first study and results on the possible synthesis of alkylphosphonic acids produced from phosphine-mixed ices under interstellar conditions. All functional groups of alkylphosphonic acids were detected through infrared spectroscopically, suggesting that this class of molecules can be formed in interstellar ices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Turner
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
| | - Matthew J Abplanalp
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
| | - Tyler J Blair
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
| | - Remwilyn Dayuha
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
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Fayolle D, Altamura E, D'Onofrio A, Madanamothoo W, Fenet B, Mavelli F, Buchet R, Stano P, Fiore M, Strazewski P. Crude phosphorylation mixtures containing racemic lipid amphiphiles self-assemble to give stable primitive compartments. Sci Rep 2017; 7:18106. [PMID: 29273739 PMCID: PMC5741756 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18053-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
It is an open question how the chemical structure of prebiotic vesicle-forming amphiphiles complexified to produce robust primitive compartments that could safely host foreign molecules. Previous work suggests that comparingly labile vesicles composed of plausibly prebiotic fatty acids were eventually chemically transformed with glycerol and a suitable phosphate source into phospholipids that would form robust vesicles. Here we show that phosphatidic acid (PA) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) lipids can be obtained from racemic dioleoyl glycerol under plausibly prebiotic phosphorylation conditions. Upon in situ hydration of the crude phosphorylation mixtures only those that contained rac-DOPA (not rac-DOPE) generated stable giant vesicles that were capable of encapsulating water-soluble probes, as evidenced by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Chemical reaction side-products (identified by IR and MS and quantified by 1H NMR) acted as co-surfactants and facilitated vesicle formation. To mimic the compositional variation of such primitive lipid mixtures, self-assembly of a combinatorial set of the above amphiphiles was tested, revealing that too high dioleoyl glycerol contents inhibited vesicle formation. We conclude that a decisive driving force for the gradual transition from unstable fatty acid vesicles to robust diacylglyceryl phosphate vesicles was to avoid the accumulation of unphosphorylated diacylglycerols in primitive vesicle membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitri Fayolle
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Emiliano Altamura
- Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Alice D'Onofrio
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Warren Madanamothoo
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Bernard Fenet
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Fabio Mavelli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy
| | - René Buchet
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Pasquale Stano
- Biological and Environmental Science and Technology Department, University of Salento, Ecotekne, I-73100, Lecce, Italy.
| | - Michele Fiore
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
| | - Peter Strazewski
- Institut de Chimie et Biochimie Moléculaires et Supramoléculaires, Université de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 bvd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
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Deuterium Fractionation upon the Formation of Hexamethylenetetramines through Photochemical Reactions of Interstellar Ice Analogs Containing Deuterated Methanol Isotopologues. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa8ea5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Silicate-Promoted Phosphorylation of Glycerol in Non-Aqueous Solvents: A Prebiotically Plausible Route to Organophosphates. Life (Basel) 2017; 7:life7030029. [PMID: 28661422 PMCID: PMC5617954 DOI: 10.3390/life7030029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Phosphorylation reactions of glycerol were studied using different inorganic phosphates such as sodium phosphate, trimetaphosphate (a condensed phosphate), and struvite. The reactions were carried out in two non-aqueous solvents: formamide and a eutectic solvent consisting of choline-chloride and glycerol in a ratio of 1:2.5. The glycerol reacted in formamide and in the eutectic solvent with phosphate to yield its phosphorylated derivatives in the presence of silicates such as quartz sand and kaolinite clay. The reactions were carried out by heating glycerol with a phosphate source at 85 °C for one week and were analyzed by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). The yield of the phosphorylated glycerol was improved by the presence of silicates, and reached 90% in some experiments. Our findings further support the proposal that non-aqueous solvents are advantageous for the prebiotic synthesis of biomolecules, and suggest that silicates may have aided in the formation of organophosphates on the prebiotic earth.
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Formation of Glycerol through Hydrogenation of CO Ice under Prestellar Core Conditions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa74dc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Stevenson A, Hamill PG, O'Kane CJ, Kminek G, Rummel JD, Voytek MA, Dijksterhuis J, Hallsworth JE. Aspergillus penicillioidesdifferentiation and cell division at 0.585 water activity. Environ Microbiol 2017; 19:687-697. [DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Revised: 11/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Stevenson
- Institute for Global Food Security; School of Biological Sciences, MBC, Queen's University Belfast; Belfast BT9 7BL Northern Ireland
| | - Philip G. Hamill
- Institute for Global Food Security; School of Biological Sciences, MBC, Queen's University Belfast; Belfast BT9 7BL Northern Ireland
| | - Callum J. O'Kane
- Institute for Global Food Security; School of Biological Sciences, MBC, Queen's University Belfast; Belfast BT9 7BL Northern Ireland
| | - Gerhard Kminek
- Independent Safety Office; European Space Agency; 2200 AG Noordwijk The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Jan Dijksterhuis
- CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Uppsalalaan 8; Utrecht CT 3584 The Netherlands
| | - John E. Hallsworth
- Institute for Global Food Security; School of Biological Sciences, MBC, Queen's University Belfast; Belfast BT9 7BL Northern Ireland
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Prebiotic Lipidic Amphiphiles and Condensing Agents on the Early Earth. Life (Basel) 2016; 6:life6020017. [PMID: 27043635 PMCID: PMC4931454 DOI: 10.3390/life6020017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is still uncertain how the first minimal cellular systems evolved to the complexity required for life to begin, but it is obvious that the role of amphiphilic compounds in the origin of life is one of huge relevance. Over the last four decades a number of studies have demonstrated how amphiphilic molecules can be synthesized under plausibly prebiotic conditions. The majority of these experiments also gave evidence for the ability of so formed amphiphiles to assemble in closed membranes of vesicles that, in principle, could have compartmented first biological processes on early Earth, including the emergence of self-replicating systems. For a competitive selection of the best performing molecular replicators to become operative, some kind of bounded units capable of harboring them are indispensable. Without the competition between dynamic populations of different compartments, life itself could not be distinguished from an otherwise disparate array or network of molecular interactions. In this review, we describe experiments that demonstrate how different prebiotically-available building blocks can become precursors of phospholipids that form vesicles. We discuss the experimental conditions that resemble plausibly those of the early Earth (or elsewhere) and consider the analytical methods that were used to characterize synthetic products. Two brief sections focus on phosphorylating agents, catalysts and coupling agents with particular attention given to their geochemical context. In Section 5, we describe how condensing agents such as cyanamide and urea can promote the abiotic synthesis of phospholipids. We conclude the review by reflecting on future studies of phospholipid compartments, particularly, on evolvable chemical systems that include giant vesicles composed of different lipidic amphiphiles.
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Turner AM, Abplanalp MJ, Kaiser RI. PROBING THE CARBON-PHOSPHORUS BOND COUPLING IN LOW-TEMPERATURE PHOSPHINE (PH 3)-METHANE (CH 4) INTERSTELLAR ICE ANALOGUES. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 2016; 819:97. [PMID: 30842683 PMCID: PMC6398962 DOI: 10.3847/0004-637x/819/2/97] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Phosphine, which has now been confirmed around the carbon-rich star IRC+10216, provides the first example of a phosphorus-containing single bond in interstellar or circumstellar media. While four compounds containing both phosphorus and carbon have been discovered, none contain a carbon-phosphorus single bond. Here, we show that this moiety is plausible from the reaction of phosphine with methane in electron-irradiated interstellar ice analogues. Fractional sublimation allows for detection of individual products at distinct temperatures using reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ReTOF) coupled with vacuum ultraviolet photoionization. This method produced phosphanes and methylphosphanes as large as P8H10 and CH3P8H9, which demonstrates that a phosphorus-carbon bond can readily form and that methylphosphanes sublime at 12-17 K higher temperatures than the non-organic phosphanes. Also, irradiated ices of phosphine with deuterated-methane untangle the reaction pathways through which these methylphosphanes were formed and identified radical recombination to be preferred over carbene/phosphinidene insertion reactions. In addition, these ReTOF results confirm that CH3PH2 and CH6P2 can form via insertion of carbene and phosphinidene and that the methylenediphosphine (PH2CH2PH2) isomer forms in the ices, although methylphosphine (CH3P2H3) is likely the more abundant isomer and that phosphanes and organophosphanes preferentially fragment via the loss of a phosphino group when photoionized. While the formation of methylphosphine is overall endoergic, the intermediates produced by interactions with energetic electrons proceed toward methylphosphine favorably and barrierlessly and provide plausible mechanisms toward hitherto unidentified interstellar compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Turner
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Matthew J Abplanalp
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Ralf I Kaiser
- W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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Abplanalp MJ, Förstel M, Kaiser RI. Exploiting single photon vacuum ultraviolet photoionization to unravel the synthesis of complex organic molecules in interstellar ices. Chem Phys Lett 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2015.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Langlois GG, Li W, Gibson KD, Sibener SJ. Capture of Hyperthermal CO2 by Amorphous Water Ice via Molecular Embedding. J Phys Chem A 2015; 119:12238-44. [PMID: 26275022 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.5b06287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We present the first study detailing the capture and aggregation of hyperthermal CO2 molecules by amorphous solid water (ASW) under ultra-high vacuum conditions at 125 K, near the amorphous/crystalline transition. Using time-resolved in situ reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), CO2 molecules with translational energies above 3.0 eV are observed to directly embed underneath the vacuum-solid interface to become absorbed within the ice films despite an inability to adsorb at 125 K; this behavior is not observed for crystalline films. Upon embedding, the mobility of CO2 within 125 K amorphous ice and the strength of its intermolecular interactions result in its segregation into clusters within the ice films. Tracing the kinetics of CO2 embedding events under different energetic conditions allows for elucidation of the underlying dynamics, and we draw comparison with other projectiles we have studied to promote generalized conclusions in regard to empirical prediction of a projectile's embedding probability. Through application of a classical model of the entrance barrier for projectiles colliding with amorphous ice, we provide direct evidence for a unified connection between embedding probability and projectile momentum; an account of all embedding data measured by our group traces a unified barrier model. This work highlights the interplay between translational energy and momentum accommodation during collisions with ice in high speed gas flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant G Langlois
- The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago , 929 E. 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Wenxin Li
- The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago , 929 E. 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - K D Gibson
- The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago , 929 E. 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - S J Sibener
- The James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago , 929 E. 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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Abplanalp MJ, Borsuk A, Jones BM, Kaiser RI. ON THE FORMATION AND ISOMER SPECIFIC DETECTION OF PROPENAL (C2H3CHO) AND CYCLOPROPANONE (c-C3H4O) IN INTERSTELLAR MODEL ICES—A COMBINED FTIR AND REFLECTRON TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/814/1/45] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Turner AM, Abplanalp MJ, Chen SY, Chen YT, Chang AHH, Kaiser RI. A photoionization mass spectroscopic study on the formation of phosphanes in low temperature phosphine ices. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 17:27281-91. [PMID: 26242769 PMCID: PMC6340707 DOI: 10.1039/c5cp02835c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Isovalency rationalizes fundamental chemical properties of elements in the same group, but often fails to account for differences in the molecular structure due to the distinct atomic sizes and electron-pair repulsion of the isovalent atoms. With respect to main group V, saturated hydrides of nitrogen are limited to ammonia (NH3) and hydrazine (N2H4) along with ionic and/or metal-bound triazene (N3H5) and potentially tetrazene (N4H6). Here, we present a novel approach for synthesizing and detecting phosphanes formed via non-classical synthesis exploiting irradiation of phosphine ices with energetic electrons, subliming the newly formed phosphanes via fractionated sublimation, and detecting these species via reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ReTOF) coupled with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) single photon ionization. This approach is able to synthesize, to separate, and to detect phosphanes as large as octaphosphane (P8H10), which far out-performs the traditional analytical tools of infrared spectroscopy and residual gas analysis via mass spectrometry coupled with electron impact ionization that could barely detect triphosphane (P3H5) thus providing an unconventional tool to prepare complex inorganic compounds such as a homologues series of phosphanes, which are difficult to synthesize via classical synthetic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Turner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. ; Tel: +1-808-956-5731
| | - Matthew J. Abplanalp
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. ; Tel: +1-808-956-5731
| | - Si Y. Chen
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan.
| | - Yu T. Chen
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan.
| | - Agnes H. H. Chang
- Department of Chemistry, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Hualien 974, Taiwan.
| | - Ralf I. Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. ; Tel: +1-808-956-5731
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