1
|
Iqubal MA, Sharma R, Kamaluddin, Jheeta S. Synthesis of Nucleic Acid Bases by Metal Ferrite Nanoparticles from a Single Carbon Atom Precursor Molecule: Formamide. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2019; 49:147-162. [PMID: 31444635 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-019-09585-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The synthesis of prebiotic molecules from simple precursors is believed to be a crucial scheme in order to study the origin of life processes. The present study describes the one-pot synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleic acid bases in the presence of pre-biologically significant binary metal oxide nanoparticles, metal ferrites, namely NiFe2O4, CoFe2O4, CuFe2O4, ZnFe2O4 and MnFe2O4. The products identified are cytosine, isocytosine, 4(3H)-pyrimidinone, adenine, hypoxanthine and purine. The ability of isocytosine (a constitutional isomer of cytosine) to recognize cytosine and guanine through normal and reversed Watson-Crick pairing respectively, demonstrates an important storyline for the genesis of ancient nucleic acids. The relevance of other synthesized nucleic acid bases with respect to the origin of life is also discussed. The divalent metal ions in iron oxide make it an appropriate catalytic system because it demonstrates excellent catalytic performance for the nucleic acid bases synthesis with significantly high yield, as compared to pure iron oxide and some other minerals like silica, alumina, manganese oxides and double metal cyanide complexes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Asif Iqubal
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, UK, 247 667, India.
- Interfield Laboratories, Plot no: C4, Green Industrial Park, Gambheeram Village, Anandapuram Mandal, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531163, India.
| | - Rachana Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, UK, 247 667, India
| | - Kamaluddin
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, UK, 247 667, India
| | - Sohan Jheeta
- Network of Researchers on Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, LS7 3RB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
The period 1800 to 800 Ma (“Boring Billion”) is believed to mark a delay in the evolution of complex life, primarily due to low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. Earlier studies highlight the remarkably flat C, Cr isotopes and low trace element trends during the so-called stasis, caused by prolonged nutrient, climatic, atmospheric and tectonic stability. In contrast, we suggest a first-order variability of bio-essential trace element availability in the oceans by combining systematic sampling of the Proterozoic rock record with sensitive geochemical analyses of marine pyrite by LA-ICP-MS technique. We also recall that several critical biological evolutionary events, such as the appearance of eukaryotes, origin of multicellularity & sexual reproduction, and the first major diversification of eukaryotes (crown group) occurred during this period. Therefore, it appears possible that the period of low nutrient trace elements (1800–1400 Ma) caused evolutionary pressures which became an essential trigger for promoting biological innovations in the eukaryotic domain. Later periods of stress-free conditions, with relatively high nutrient trace element concentration, facilitated diversification. We propose that the “Boring Billion” was a period of sequential stepwise evolution and diversification of complex eukaryotes, triggering evolutionary pathways that made possible the later rise of micro-metazoans and their macroscopic counterparts.
Collapse
|
3
|
Kobayashi K, Geppert WD, Carrasco N, Holm NG, Mousis O, Palumbo ME, Waite JH, Watanabe N, Ziurys LM. Laboratory Studies of Methane and Its Relationship to Prebiotic Chemistry. ASTROBIOLOGY 2017; 17:786-812. [PMID: 28727932 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
To examine how prebiotic chemical evolution took place on Earth prior to the emergence of life, laboratory experiments have been conducted since the 1950s. Methane has been one of the key molecules in these investigations. In earlier studies, strongly reducing gas mixtures containing methane and ammonia were used to simulate possible reactions in the primitive atmosphere of Earth, producing amino acids and other organic compounds. Since Earth's early atmosphere is now considered to be less reducing, the contribution of extraterrestrial organics to chemical evolution has taken on an important role. Such organic molecules may have come from molecular clouds and regions of star formation that created protoplanetary disks, planets, asteroids, and comets. The interstellar origin of organics has been examined both experimentally and theoretically, including laboratory investigations that simulate interstellar molecular reactions. Endogenous and exogenous organics could also have been supplied to the primitive ocean, making submarine hydrothermal systems plausible sites of the generation of life. Experiments that simulate such hydrothermal systems where methane played an important role have consequently been conducted. Processes that occur in other Solar System bodies offer clues to the prebiotic chemistry of Earth. Titan and other icy bodies, where methane plays significant roles, are especially good targets. In the case of Titan, methane is both in the atmosphere and in liquidospheres that are composed of methane and other hydrocarbons, and these have been studied in simulation experiments. Here, we review the wide range of experimental work in which these various terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments have been modeled, and we examine the possible role of methane in chemical evolution. Key Words: Methane-Interstellar environments-Submarine hydrothermal systems-Titan-Origin of life. Astrobiology 17, 786-812.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kensei Kobayashi
- 1 Department of Chemistry, Yokohama National University , Yokohama, Japan
| | - Wolf D Geppert
- 2 Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University , Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nathalie Carrasco
- 3 LATMOS, Université Versailles St-Quentin , UPMC, CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - Nils G Holm
- 2 Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University , Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Olivier Mousis
- 4 Aix Marseille Université , CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, Marseille, France
| | | | - J Hunter Waite
- 6 Southwest Research Institute , San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Naoki Watanabe
- 7 Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo, Japan
| | - Lucy M Ziurys
- 8 Department of Astronomy, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, Arizona, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Adsorption and Oxidation of Aromatic Amines on Metal(II) Hexacyanocobaltate(III) Complexes: Implication for Oligomerization of Exotic Aromatic Compounds. INORGANICS 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/inorganics5020018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
|
5
|
Bhushan B, Nayak A, Kamaluddin. Catalytic Role of Manganese Oxides in Prebiotic Nucleobases Synthesis from Formamide. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2016; 46:203-13. [PMID: 26758444 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-015-9480-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Origin of life processes might have begun with the formation of important biomonomers, such as amino acids and nucleotides, from simple molecules present in the prebiotic environment and their subsequent condensation to biopolymers. While studying the prebiotic synthesis of naturally occurring purine and pyrimidine derivatives from formamide, the manganese oxides demonstrated not only good binding for formamide but demonstrated novel catalytic activity. A novel one pot manganese oxide catalyzed synthesis of pyrimidine nucleobases like thymine is reported along with the formation of other nucleobases like purine, 9-(hydroxyacetyl) purine, cytosine, 4(3 H)-pyrimidinone and adenine in acceptable amounts. The work reported is significant in the sense that the synthesis of thymine has exhibited difficulties especially under one pot conditions and also such has been reported only under the catalytic activity of TiO2. The lower oxides of manganese were reported to show higher potential as catalysts and their existence were favored by the reducing atmospheric conditions prevalent on early Earth; thereby confirming the hypothesis that mineral having metals in reduced form might have been more active during the course of chemical evolution. Our results further confirm the role of formamide as a probable precursor for the formation of purine and pyrimidine bases during the course of chemical evolution and origin of life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brij Bhushan
- Department of Agrifood Engineering and Biotecnology, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08860, Barcelona, Castelldefels, Spain.
| | - Arunima Nayak
- Energy and Environment Department, Innovació i Recerca Industrial i Sostenible, -08860, Castelldefels, Spain
| | - Kamaluddin
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, 247667(U.K.), India
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mulkidjanian AY. On the origin of life in the zinc world: 1. Photosynthesizing, porous edifices built of hydrothermally precipitated zinc sulfide as cradles of life on Earth. Biol Direct 2009; 4:26. [PMID: 19703272 PMCID: PMC3152778 DOI: 10.1186/1745-6150-4-26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2009] [Accepted: 08/24/2009] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The complexity of the problem of the origin of life has spawned a large number of possible evolutionary scenarios. Their number, however, can be dramatically reduced by the simultaneous consideration of various bioenergetic, physical, and geological constraints. RESULTS This work puts forward an evolutionary scenario that satisfies the known constraints by proposing that life on Earth emerged, powered by UV-rich solar radiation, at photosynthetically active porous edifices made of precipitated zinc sulfide (ZnS) similar to those found around modern deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Under the high pressure of the primeval, carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere ZnS could precipitate at the surface of the first continents, within reach of solar light. It is suggested that the ZnS surfaces (1) used the solar radiation to drive carbon dioxide reduction, yielding the building blocks for the first biopolymers, (2) served as templates for the synthesis of longer biopolymers from simpler building blocks, and (3) prevented the first biopolymers from photo-dissociation, by absorbing from them the excess radiation. In addition, the UV light may have favoured the selective enrichment of photostable, RNA-like polymers. Falsification tests of this hypothesis are described in the accompanying article (A.Y. Mulkidjanian, M.Y. Galperin, Biology Direct 2009, 4:27). CONCLUSION The suggested "Zn world" scenario identifies the geological conditions under which photosynthesizing ZnS edifices of hydrothermal origin could emerge and persist on primordial Earth, includes a mechanism of the transient storage and utilization of solar light for the production of diverse organic compounds, and identifies the driving forces and selective factors that could have promoted the transition from the first simple, photostable polymers to more complex living organisms.
Collapse
|
7
|
Crockford SJ. Evolutionary roots of iodine and thyroid hormones in cell-cell signaling. Integr Comp Biol 2009; 49:155-66. [PMID: 21669854 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icp053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In vertebrates, thyroid hormones (THs, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine) are critical cell signaling molecules. THs regulate and coordinate physiology within and between cells, tissues, and whole organisms, in addition to controlling embryonic growth and development, via dose-dependent regulatory effects on essential genes. While invertebrates and plants do not have thyroid glands, many utilize THs for development, while others store iodine as TH derivatives or TH precursor molecules (iodotyrosines)-or produce similar hormones that act in analogous ways. Such common developmental roles for iodotyrosines across kingdoms suggest that a common endocrine signaling mechanism may account for coordinated evolutionary change in all multi-cellular organisms. Here, I expand my earlier hypothesis for the role of THs in vertebrate evolution by proposing a critical evolutionary role for iodine, the essential ingredient in all iodotyrosines and THs. Iodine is known to be crucial for life in many unicellular organisms (including evolutionarily ancient cyanobacteria), in part, because it acts as a powerful antioxidant. I propose that during the last 3-4 billion years, the ease with which various iodine species become volatile, react with simple organic compounds, and catalyze biochemical reactions explains why iodine became an essential constituent of life and the Earth's atmosphere-and a potential marker for the origins of life. From an initial role as membrane antioxidant and biochemical catalyst, spontaneous coupling of iodine with tyrosine appears to have created a versatile, highly reactive and mobile molecule, which over time became integrated into the machinery of energy production, gene function, and DNA replication in mitochondria. Iodotyrosines later coupled together to form THs, the ubiquitous cell-signaling molecules used by all vertebrates. Thus, due to their evolutionary history, THs, and their derivative and precursors molecules not only became essential for communicating within and between cells, tissues and organs, and for coordinating development and whole-body physiology in vertebrates, but they can also be shared between organisms from different kingdoms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan J Crockford
- Department of Anthropology, PO Box 3050 STN CSC, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 3P5
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ali SR, Kamaluddin. The Interaction of Ribonucleotides with Metal Hexacyanochromates(III) and the Relevance to Chemical Evolution. BULLETIN OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN 2004. [DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.77.1681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
|
9
|
Ali SR, Ahmad J, Kamaluddin. Interaction of ribose nucleotides with metal ferrocyanides and its relevance in chemical evolution. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2004. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2004.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
|
10
|
Ali SR, Alam T. Interaction of tryptophan and phenylalanine with metal ferrocyanides and its relevance in chemical evolution. ASTROBIOLOGY 2004; 4:420-426. [PMID: 15684722 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2004.4.420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The interaction of two naturally occurring aromatic alpha-amino acids, namely, tryptophan and phenylalanine, with zinc, nickel, cobalt, and copper ferrocyanides has been studied. Both amino acids showed a high adsorption affinity toward metal ferrocyanides at neutral pH (7.0). Adsorption trends followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Values of the Langmuir constants K(L) and X(m) suggest tryptophan is a better adsorbate than phenylalanine. Zinc ferrocyanide showed the highest adsorption, while the minimum adsorption was found in the case of copper ferrocyanide. Infrared spectral studies of adsorbate, adsorbent, and adsorption adducts indicate that adsorption occurs because of the interaction of adsorbate molecules with outer divalent metal ions present in the lattice of metal ferrocyanides. The present investigation supports the hypothesis that metal ferrocyanides might have concentrated the biomonomers on their surface in primeval seas during the course of chemical evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shah Raj Ali
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Alam T, Tarannum H, Ali SR. Adsorption and Oxidation of Aniline and Anisidine by Chromium Ferrocyanide. J Colloid Interface Sci 2002; 245:251-6. [PMID: 16802453 DOI: 10.1006/jcis.2001.7968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The interaction of aniline and p-anisidine with chromium ferrocyanide has been studied. Maximum uptake of both anilines was observed around pH 7. The adsorption data obtained at neutral pH were found to follow Langmuir adsorption. Anisidine was a better adsorbate because of its higher basicity. In alkaline medium (pH>8) both aniline and anisidine reacted with chromium ferrocyanide to give colored products. Analysis of the products by GC-MS showed benzoquinone and azobenzene as the reaction products of aniline while p-anisidine afforded a dimer. IR analysis of the amine-chromium ferrocyanide adduct suggests that the outer metal ion of chromium ferrocyanide and amino group of amines are responsible for the interaction. A possible reaction mechanism for the product formation in alkaline medium has been proposed. The present study suggests that metal ferrocyanides might have played an important role in the stabilization of organic molecules through their surface activity in the prebiotic condensation reactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tanveer Alam
- K.L.D.A.V. Degree College, Roorkee, 247 667, India
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Strasdeit H, Büsching I, Behrends S, Saak W, Barklage W. Syntheses and properties of zinc and calcium complexes of valinate and isovalinate: metal alpha-amino acidates as possible constituents of the early Earth's chemical inventory. Chemistry 2001; 7:1133-42. [PMID: 11303873 DOI: 10.1002/1521-3765(20010302)7:5<1133::aid-chem1133>3.0.co;2-t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We have studied the ligand behavior of racemic isovalinate (iva) and valinate (val) towards zinc(II) and calcium(II). The following solid metal amino acidates were obtained from aqueous solutions: Zn3Cl2(iva)4 (1), Zn3Cl2(val)4 (2). Zn(val)2 (3), Zn(iva)2 x 2H2O (4), Zn(iva)2 x 3.25H2O (5), Zn(iva)2 (6), Ca(iva)2x xH2O (7), and Ca(val)2 x H2O (8). Except for complex 3, these were hitherto unknown compounds. The conditions under which they formed, together with current ideas of the conditions on early Earth, support the assumption that alpha-amino acidate complexes of zinc and calcium might have belonged to early Earth's prebiotic chemical inventory. The zinc isovalinates 1, 4, and 5 were characterized by X-ray crystal structure analyses. Complex 1 forms a layer structure containing four- and five-coordinate metal atoms, whereas the zinc atoms in 4 and 5 are five-coordinate. Compound 5 possesses an unprecedented nonpolymeric structure built from cyclic [Zn6(iva)12] complexes, which are separated by water molecules. The thermolyses of solids 1. 3, and 8 at 320 degrees C in an N2 atmosphere yielded numerous organic products, including the cyclic dipeptide of valine from 3 and 8. Condensation, C-C bond breaking and bond formation, aromatization, decarboxylation, and deamination reactions occurred during the thermolyses. Such reactions of metal-bound a-amino acidates that are abiotically formed could already have contributed to an organic-geochemical diversity before life appeared on Earth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- H Strasdeit
- Fachbereich Chemie der Universität, Oldenburg, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Alam T, Tarannum H, Kumar N. Interaction of 2-Amino-, 3-Amino-, and 4-Aminopyridines with Chromium and Manganese Ferrocyanides. J Colloid Interface Sci 2000; 224:133-139. [PMID: 10708502 DOI: 10.1006/jcis.1999.6681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The present investigation deals with the interaction of 2-aminopyridine, 3-aminopyridine, and 4-aminopyridine with chromium and manganese ferrocyanides. Chromium ferrocyanide possesses better adsorbing properties than manganese ferrocyanide. Maximum uptake was observed at neutral pH (pH 7.0). The adsorption data obtained at neutral pH are fitted in a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The adsorption behavior of the aminopyridines studied follows the order 3-aminopyridine >4-aminopyridine >2-aminopyridine. The infrared spectral studies of adsorption adducts indicate that adsorption takes place through interactions between the adsorbate molecule and the outer divalent metal ion of metal ferrocyanides. From these studies, it is clear that metal ferrocyanides and metal ions play a major role in the stabilization of organic molecules through their surface activity in the prebiotic environment. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T Alam
- Chemistry Department, University of Roorkee, Roorkee, 247 667, India
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Interaction of 2-amino, 3-amino and 4-aminopyridines with nickel and cobalt ferrocyanides. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2000. [DOI: 10.1016/s0927-7757(99)00248-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
15
|
Alam T, Kamaluddin. Interaction of Aminopyridines with Metal Hexacyanoferrates(II). BULLETIN OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN 1999. [DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.72.1697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
|
16
|
Viladkar S, Agarwal R, Kamaluddin. Adsorption of Adenine, Adenosine, and Adenosine Nucleotides on Nickel(II) Hexacyanoferrate(II). BULLETIN OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN 1996. [DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.69.95] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
|
17
|
Ponnamperuma C, Navarro-González R, Honda Y. Chemical studies on the possible existence of life on Mars. ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR) 1995; 15:177-184. [PMID: 11539222 DOI: 10.1016/s0273-1177(99)80081-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Although there is no direct evidence yet for the existence of life on Mars, it is reasonable to conclude that the emergence of life on Earth, which appears to have been controlled by universal laws of physics and chemistry, may have been repeated elsewhere in the universe. The dual approach of synthesis and analysis in our experimental studies has provided ample evidence in support of this hypothesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Ponnamperuma
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park 20742, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Navarro-González R, Ponnamperuma C. Role of trace metal ions in chemical evolution. The case of free-radical reactions. ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR) 1995; 15:357-364. [PMID: 11539250 DOI: 10.1016/s0273-1177(99)80107-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
We have studied the effect of iron in the free-radical oligomerization of hydrogen cyanide and acetic acid, and found that iron(II) and iron(III) readily reduces or oxidizes free radicals, respectively. The transient species produced by these reactions do not induce a chain oligomerization process and, therefore, they protect the solute molecules from degradation. Analysis of the available kinetic data for the reactions of a variety of transition metal ions with free radicals indicate that transition metal ions behave similarly to iron. Since Fe, Zn and Mo are essential to all living organisms, and there seems to be no apparent difference in chemical reactivity among transition metal ions towards free radicals, we suggest that these metal ions probably protected the biomolecules from degradation induced by free-radical reactions in the later stages of chemical evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Navarro-González
- Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
| | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Sudhakar Reddy G, Vanita Reddy G, Gill Smith G. The effect of Ni(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), Co(II) and Pd(II) ions on racemisation of hydroxy α-amino acids. Inorganica Chim Acta 1989. [DOI: 10.1016/s0020-1693(00)80786-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
20
|
Navarro-González R, Negrón-Mendoza A, Aguirre-Calderón ME, Ponnamperuma C. The gamma-irradiation of aqueous hydrogen cyanide in the presence of ferrocyanide or ferricyanide: implications to prebiotic chemistry. ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPACE RESEARCH (COSPAR) 1989; 9:57-61. [PMID: 11537374 DOI: 10.1016/0273-1177(89)90208-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The gamma-irradiation of 0.1 M, O2-free, aqueous HCN was studied in the presence of ferrocyanide or ferricyanide in the concentration range 10(-3) - 10(-5) M. This study was carried out in order to get an insight into the possible role that cyanocomplexes of iron may have played in promoting prebiotic syntheses via the free-radical oligomerization of HCN. It was found that ferrocyanide or ferricyanide have no effect on the irradiation of 0.1 M HCN solutions at concentrations < or = 10(-4) M. At high concentrations, 10(-3) M, they lead to a marked decrease in the conversion of HCN. There was no significant difference due to the oxidation state of iron used, particularly at high doses > or = 100 kGy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Navarro-González
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park 20742
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Kobayashi K, Ponnamperuma C. Trace elements in chemical evolution. II: Synthesis of amino acids under simulated primitive earth conditions in the presence of trace elements. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 1985; 16:57-67. [PMID: 4094752 DOI: 10.1007/bf01808049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Electric discharge experiments have been performed in a plausible primitive earth atmosphere consisting of methane, nitrogen, and water over an aqueous phase of an ammonia-ammonium buffer solution. In some experiments, ions of metal elements, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and molybdenum were introduced. Gas phase products and amino acids in the liquid phase were analyzed by gas chromatography. With trace metal ions, less organic compounds in the gas phase and larger amounts of amino acids were obtained than without them. The results have shown the possible importance of trace elements in chemical evolution and the origin of life on the earth.
Collapse
|