1
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Stelmach KB, Dukes CA, Garrod RT. Search for Chirality in Hydrogenated Magnesium Nanosilicates: A DFT and TD-DFT Investigation. J Phys Chem A 2024; 128:3475-3494. [PMID: 38687691 PMCID: PMC11089509 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c06521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
The formation of silicate grains in the interstellar medium (ISM), especially those containing chiral surfaces such as clinopyroxenes, is poorly understood. Moreover, silicate interactions with various forms of hydrogen-proton (H+), neutral H (HI), and molecular hydrogen (H2) are of high importance as hydrogen comprises >90% of the ISM gas budget, and these species play important roles in the formation of new molecules in space. Furthermore, silicate surfaces catalyze the formation of H2 in the interstellar medium formed on dust grain surfaces by H-H association. The technical difficulty of in situ laboratory investigations of nanosilicate nucleation using astrophysically relevant environmental conditions makes computational chemistry a useful tool for studying potential nanosilicate structures. Furthermore, chiral surfaces interacting with chiral organic molecules could serve as templates that lead to the enantiomeric excess of l-amino acids and d-polyols detected in carbonaceous meteorites. However, in order for this effect to take place, an excess of one chiral form of a mineral is required to break the symmetry. This symmetry-breaking event could have been due to the asymmetric absorption of circularly polarized light by the nanosilicate as it traverses star-forming regions. We investigate this possibility using a metastable chiral form of an enstatite dimer as an input for density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations to obtain various properties and circular dichroism spectra. All in all, twenty-six magnesium nanosilicate structures were studied using varying degrees of hydrogenation: none, with HI, with H+, and with H2. The HSE06/aug-cc-pVQZ level of theory was used for the DFT calculations. TD-DFT calculations utilized the CAM-B3LYP/cc-pVQZ and ωB97X-D3/cc-pVQZ functional and basic set pairings. Results show that (1) all twenty-six structures have absorption bands that fall within the 0.6-28.3 μm range available with the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope and (2) there is a small enantioselective effect by UV-CPL on the eight chiral enstatite dimers (predicted g-values of up to 0.007). While the observed effect is small, it opens up the possibility that it is the inorganic material that becomes enantiomerically biased by UV-CPL, driving chiral enhancements in meteoric organic molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamil B. Stelmach
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 20904, United States
- Laboratory
for Astrophysics and Surface Physics, Department of Materials Science
and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States
| | - Catherine A. Dukes
- Laboratory
for Astrophysics and Surface Physics, Department of Materials Science
and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States
| | - Robin T. Garrod
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 20904, United States
- Department
of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States
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2
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Sato A, Shoji M, Watanabe N, Boero M, Shigeta Y, Umemura M. Origin of Homochirality in Amino Acids Induced by Lyman-α Irradiation in the Early Stage of the Milky Way. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:1019-1026. [PMID: 37737584 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0140] [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: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
The enantiomeric excess (ee) of l-form amino acids found in the Murchison meteorite poses some issues about the cosmic origin of their chirality. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of amino acids in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) at around 6.8 eV (182 nm) indicate that the circularly polarized light can induce ee through photochemical reactions. Here, we resort to ab initio calculations to extract the CD spectra up to the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) region (∼11 eV), and we propose a novel equation to compute the ee applicable to a wider range of light frequency than what is available to date. This allows us to show that the strength of the induced ee (|ee|) in the 10 eV VUV region is comparable to the one in the 6.8 eV FUV region. This feature is common for some key amino acids (alanine, 2-aminobutyric acid, and valine). In space, intense Lyman-α (Lyα) light of 10.2 eV is emitted from star forming regions. This study provides a theoretical basis that Lyα emitter from an early starburst in the Milky Way plays a crucial role in initiating the ee of amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akimasa Sato
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Shoji
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- JST-PRESTO, Kawaguchi, Japan
| | - Natsuki Watanabe
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Mauro Boero
- Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7504, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Yasuteru Shigeta
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Masayuki Umemura
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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3
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Annila A. Chiral conformity emerges from the least-time free energy consumption. Interface Focus 2023; 13:20220074. [PMID: 37065265 PMCID: PMC10102724 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0074] [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: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of chirally pure biological polymers is often assumed to stem from some slight preference for one chiral form at the origin of life. Likewise, the predominance of matter over antimatter is presumed to follow from some subtle bias for matter at the dawn of the universe. However, rather than being imposed from the start, handedness standards in societies emerged to make things work. Since work is the universal measure of transferred energy, it is reasoned that standards at all scales and scopes emerge to consume free energy. Free energy minimization, equal to entropy maximization, turns out to be the second law of thermodynamics when derived from statistical physics of open systems. This many-body theory is based on the atomistic axiom that everything comprises the same fundamental elements known as quanta of action; hence, everything follows the same law. According to the thermodynamic principle, the flows of energy naturally select standard structures over less-fit functional forms to consume free energy in the least time. Thermodynamics making no distinction between animate and inanimate renders the question of life's handedness meaningless and deems the search for an intrinsic difference between matter and antimatter pointless.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arto Annila
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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4
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Shoji M, Kitazawa Y, Sato A, Watanabe N, Boero M, Shigeta Y, Umemura M. Enantiomeric Excesses of Aminonitrile Precursors Determine the Homochirality of Amino Acids. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3243-3248. [PMID: 36975120 PMCID: PMC10084466 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
High enantiomeric excesses (ee's) of l-amino acids, including non-proteinogenic amino acid isovaline (Iva), were discovered in the Murchison meteorite, but the detailed molecular mechanism responsible for the observed ee of amino acids remains elusive and inconsistent, because Iva has an inverted circular dichroism (CD) spectrum with respect to α-H amino acids, e.g., alanine. To address this issue, we resort to accurate ab initio calculations for amino acids and their precursors in the Strecker synthesis. We evaluated their photolysis-induced ee in the range 5-11 eV including the Lyman alpha emission line (Lyα), the typical intensive 10.2 eV radiation ascribed to the early phase of galactic evolution. We show that only the aminonitrile precursors are characterized by positive ee in the Lyα region, explaining why right-handed circularly polarized Lyα (R-CP-Lyα) induces homologous l-amino acids. This study shows that the homochirality of amino acids is produced at the aminonitrile precursors stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuo Shoji
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
- JST-PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Yuya Kitazawa
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Akimasa Sato
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Natsuki Watanabe
- Graduate
School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University
of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan
| | - Mauro Boero
- University
of Strasbourg, Institut de Physique
et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7504, 23 rue du Loess, Strasbourg F-67034, France
| | - Yasuteru Shigeta
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
| | - Masayuki Umemura
- Center
for Computational Sciences, University of
Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan
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5
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Hori Y, Nakamura H, Sakawa T, Watanabe N, Kayanuma M, Shoji M, Umemura M, Shigeta Y. Theoretical Investigation into a Possibility of Formation of Propylene Oxide Homochirality in Space. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:1330-1336. [PMID: 36067332 PMCID: PMC9618371 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The preferential synthesis or destruction of a single enantiomer by ultraviolet circularly polarized light (UV-CPL) has been proposed as a possible triggering mechanism for the extraterrestrial origin of homochirality. Herein, we investigate the photoabsorption property of propylene oxide (c-C3H6O) for UV-CPL in the Lyman-α region. Our calculations show that c-C3H6O was produced by CH3+ and CH3CH(OH)CH3 or C3H7• and O (triplet). The computed electronic circular dichroism spectra show that c-C3H6O and the intermediate (CH3CH(OH)CH2+) could absorb the UV-CPL originating from the Lyman-α emitter spectrum, suggesting that the photolysis of c-C3H6O or CH3CH(OH)CH2+ upon irradiation could induce chiral symmetry breakage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Hori
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Honami Nakamura
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Takahide Sakawa
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Natsuki Watanabe
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Megumi Kayanuma
- Research Center for Computational Design of Advanced Functional Materials, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Shoji
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Masayuki Umemura
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yasuteru Shigeta
- Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
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6
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Kaiser RI, Zhao L, Lu W, Ahmed M, Evseev MM, Azyazov VN, Mebel AM, Mohamed RK, Fischer FR, Li X. Gas-phase synthesis of racemic helicenes and their potential role in the enantiomeric enrichment of sugars and amino acids in meteorites. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:25077-25087. [PMID: 36056687 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03084e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The molecular origins of homochirality on Earth is not understood well, particularly how enantiomerically enriched molecules of astrobiological significance like sugars and amino acids might have been synthesized on icy grains in space preceding their delivery to Earth. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) identified in carbonaceous chondrites could have been processed in molecular clouds by circularly polarized light prior to the depletion of enantiomerically enriched helicenes onto carbonaceous grains resulting in chiral islands. However, the fundamental low temperature reaction mechanisms leading to racemic helicenes are still unknown. Here, by exploiting synchrotron based molecular beam photoionization mass spectrometry combined with electronic structure calculations, we provide compelling testimony on barrierless, low temperature pathways leading to racemates of [5] and [6]helicene. Astrochemical modeling advocates that gas-phase reactions in molecular clouds lead to racemates of helicenes suggesting a pathway for future astronomical observation and providing a fundamental understanding for the origin of homochirality on early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralf I Kaiser
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA.
| | - Long Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA.
| | - Wenchao Lu
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | - Musahid Ahmed
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | | | | | - Alexander M Mebel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA.
| | - Rana K Mohamed
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Kavli Energy Nano Sciences Institute at the University of California Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Felix R Fischer
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Kavli Energy Nano Sciences Institute at the University of California Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Xiaohu Li
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, P. R. China.
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7
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Gleiser M. Biological Homochirality and the Search for Extraterrestrial Biosignatures. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2022; 52:93-104. [PMID: 35969306 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-022-09623-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Most amino acids and sugar molecules occur in mirror, or chiral, images of each other, knowns as enantiomers. However, life on Earth is mostly homochiral: proteins contain almost exclusively L-amino acids, while only D-sugars appear in RNA and DNA. The mechanism behind this fundamental asymmetry of life remains unknown, despite much progress in the theoretical and experimental understanding of homochirality in the past decades. We review three potential mechanisms for the emergence of biological homochirality on primal Earth and explore their implications for astrobiology: the first, that biological homochirality is a stochastic process driven by local environmental fluctuations; the second, that it is driven by circularly-polarized ultraviolet radiation in star-forming regions; and the third, that it is driven by parity violation at the elementary particle level. We argue that each of these mechanisms leads to different observational consequences for the existence of enantiomeric excesses in our solar system and in exoplanets, pointing to the possibility that the search for life elsewhere will help elucidate the origins of homochirality on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Gleiser
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
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8
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Sallembien Q, Bouteiller L, Crassous J, Raynal M. Possible chemical and physical scenarios towards biological homochirality. Chem Soc Rev 2022; 51:3436-3476. [PMID: 35377372 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs01179k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The single chirality of biological molecules in terrestrial biology raises more questions than certitudes about its origin. The emergence of biological homochirality (BH) and its connection with the appearance of life have elicited a large number of theories related to the generation, amplification and preservation of a chiral bias in molecules of life under prebiotically relevant conditions. However, a global scenario is still lacking. Here, the possibility of inducing a significant chiral bias "from scratch", i.e. in the absence of pre-existing enantiomerically-enriched chemical species, will be considered first. It includes phenomena that are inherent to the nature of matter itself, such as the infinitesimal energy difference between enantiomers as a result of violation of parity in certain fundamental interactions, and physicochemical processes related to interactions between chiral organic molecules and physical fields, polarized particles, polarized spins and chiral surfaces. The spontaneous emergence of chirality in the absence of detectable chiral physical and chemical sources has recently undergone significant advances thanks to the deracemization of conglomerates through Viedma ripening and asymmetric auto-catalysis with the Soai reaction. All these phenomena are commonly discussed as plausible sources of asymmetry under prebiotic conditions and are potentially accountable for the primeval chiral bias in molecules of life. Then, several scenarios will be discussed that are aimed to reflect the different debates about the emergence of BH: extra-terrestrial or terrestrial origin (where?), nature of the mechanisms leading to the propagation and enhancement of the primeval chiral bias (how?) and temporal sequence between chemical homochirality, BH and life emergence (when?). Intense and ongoing theories regarding the emergence of optically pure molecules at different moments of the evolution process towards life, i.e. at the levels of building blocks of Life, of the instructed or functional polymers, or even later at the stage of more elaborated chemical systems, will be critically discussed. The underlying principles and the experimental evidence will be commented for each scenario with particular attention on those leading to the induction and enhancement of enantiomeric excesses in proteinogenic amino acids, natural sugars, and their intermediates or derivatives. The aim of this review is to propose an updated and timely synopsis in order to stimulate new efforts in this interdisciplinary field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Sallembien
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Laurent Bouteiller
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Jeanne Crassous
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, ISCR-UMR 6226, F-35000 Rennes, France.
| | - Matthieu Raynal
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut Parisien de Chimie Moléculaire, Equipe Chimie des Polymères, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
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9
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Glavin DP, Burton AS, Elsila JE, Aponte JC, Dworkin JP. The Search for Chiral Asymmetry as a Potential Biosignature in our Solar System. Chem Rev 2019; 120:4660-4689. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P. Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, United States
| | - Jamie E. Elsila
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
| | - José C. Aponte
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
- Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, United States
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, United States
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10
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Tamura K. Perspectives on the Origin of Biological Homochirality on Earth. J Mol Evol 2019; 87:143-146. [PMID: 31254011 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-019-09897-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The origin of biological homochirality on Earth has been an important unresolved issue in the field of molecular evolution and many hypotheses have been proposed to explain this. The most prevailing view may be that of astrobiologists, in that a slight enantiomeric excess of L-amino acids in meteorites can account for the origin. However, the view ignores two important factors: amino acid racemization, and the evolution and continuity of biological systems on Earth. Therefore, on the basis of these two standpoints, the plausibility of the hypothesis that chiral-selective tRNA aminoacylation could have led to crucial homochiral protein biosynthesis should be emphasized. Recent molecular dynamic simulations have clearly elucidated the mechanisms of enantiomer-specific aminoacylation. These studies strengthen the possibility that the hypothesized chiral selection of amino acids in biological systems actually occurred at the molecular level. It is significant to raise the points because the topic so far has tended to be expressed unclearly and ambiguously and also handled as such owing to its very nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Tamura
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan.
- Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan.
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11
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Garcia AD, Meinert C, Sugahara H, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Meierhenrich UJ. The Astrophysical Formation of Asymmetric Molecules and the Emergence of a Chiral Bias. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:E29. [PMID: 30884807 PMCID: PMC6463258 DOI: 10.3390/life9010029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The biomolecular homochirality in living organisms has been investigated for decades, but its origin remains poorly understood. It has been shown that circular polarized light (CPL) and other energy sources are capable of inducing small enantiomeric excesses (ees) in some primary biomolecules, such as amino acids or sugars. Since the first findings of amino acids in carbonaceous meteorites, a scenario in which essential chiral biomolecules originate in space and are delivered by celestial bodies has arisen. Numerous studies have thus focused on their detection, identification, and enantiomeric excess calculations in extraterrestrial matrices. In this review we summarize the discoveries in amino acids, sugars, and organophosphorus compounds in meteorites, comets, and laboratory-simulated interstellar ices. Based on available analytical data, we also discuss their interactions with CPL in the ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) regions, their abiotic chiral or achiral synthesis, and their enantiomeric distribution. Without doubt, further laboratory investigations and upcoming space missions are required to shed more light on our potential extraterrestrial molecular origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrien D Garcia
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
| | - Haruna Sugahara
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency⁻Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan.
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Uwe J Meierhenrich
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
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12
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Abstract
The discovery of meteoritic alpha-amino acids with significant enantiomeric excesses of the L-form has suggested that some cosmic factors could serve as the initial source for chiral imbalance of organic compounds delivered to the early Earth. The paper reviews major hypothesis considering the influence of chiral irradiation and chiral combinations of physical fields on the possible ways asymmetric synthesis and transformations of organics could take place within the solar system. They could result in a small enantiomeric imbalance of some groups of compounds. More attention is paid to the hypothesis on parity violation of weak interaction that was supposed to cause homochirality of all primary particles and a more significant homochirality of compounds directly synthesized from the latter in a plasma reactor. The first experiment with material synthesized in a plasma torch resulting from a super-high-velocity impact showed formation of alanine with the excess of L-form between 7 and 25%. The supposed conclusion is that L-amino acids could serve as a starting homochiral biomolecular pool for life to emerge all over the Universe.
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13
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Sugahara H, Meinert C, Nahon L, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Hamase K, Takano Y, Meierhenrich UJ. d-Amino acids in molecular evolution in space - Absolute asymmetric photolysis and synthesis of amino acids by circularly polarized light. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2018; 1866:743-758. [PMID: 29357311 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms on the Earth almost exclusively use l-amino acids for the molecular architecture of proteins. The biological occurrence of d-amino acids is rare, although their functions in various organisms are being gradually understood. A possible explanation for the origin of biomolecular homochirality is the delivery of enantioenriched molecules via extraterrestrial bodies, such as asteroids and comets on early Earth. For the asymmetric formation of amino acids and their precursor molecules in interstellar environments, the interaction with circularly polarized photons is considered to have played a potential role in causing chiral asymmetry. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the investigation of chirality transfer from chiral photons to amino acids involving the two major processes of asymmetric photolysis and asymmetric synthesis. We will discuss analytical data on cometary and meteoritic amino acids and their potential impact delivery to the early Earth. The ongoing and future ambitious space missions, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, ExoMars 2020, and MMX, are scheduled to provide new insights into the chirality of extraterrestrial organic molecules and their potential relation to the terrestrial homochirality. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: d-Amino acids: biology in the mirror, edited by Dr. Loredano Pollegioni, Dr. Jean-Pierre Mothet and Dr. Molla Gianluca.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Sugahara
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Laurent Nahon
- L'Orme des Merisiers, Synchrotron SOLEIL, BP 48 Saint Aubin, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Kenji Hamase
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Takano
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan
| | - Uwe J Meierhenrich
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7272, 06108 Nice, France.
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14
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Abstract
We introduce a general theoretical approach for the simulation of photochemical dynamics under the influence of circularly polarized light to explore the possibility of generating enantiomeric enrichment through polarized-light-selective photochemistry. The method is applied to the simulation of the photolysis of alanine, a prototype chiral amino acid. We show that a systematic enantiomeric enrichment can be obtained depending on the helicity of the circularly polarized light that induces the excited-state photochemistry of alanine. By analyzing the patterns of the photoinduced fragmentation of alanine we find an inducible enantiomeric enrichment up to 1.7%, which is also in good correspondence to the experimental findings. Our method is generally applicable to complex systems and might serve to systematically explore the photochemical origin of homochirality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Wohlgemuth
- Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg , Emil-Fischer-Str. 42, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Roland Mitrić
- Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg , Emil-Fischer-Str. 42, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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15
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Fujiki M, Donguri Y, Zhao Y, Nakao A, Suzuki N, Yoshida K, Zhang W. Photon magic: chiroptical polarisation, depolarisation, inversion, retention and switching of non-photochromic light-emitting polymers in optofluidic medium. Polym Chem 2015. [DOI: 10.1039/c4py01337a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A circularly polarised photon hand, l- and r-, was not a deterministic factor for the induced chiroptical sign of π-conjugated polymer aggregates. This anomaly originates from circular dichroism inversion characteristics between shorter and longer π–π* bands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiya Fujiki
- Graduate School of Materials Science
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology
- Ikoma
- Japan
| | - Yuri Donguri
- Graduate School of Materials Science
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology
- Ikoma
- Japan
| | - Yin Zhao
- Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application
- College of Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
- Soochow University
| | - Ayako Nakao
- Graduate School of Materials Science
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology
- Ikoma
- Japan
| | - Nozomu Suzuki
- Graduate School of Materials Science
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology
- Ikoma
- Japan
| | - Kana Yoshida
- Graduate School of Materials Science
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology
- Ikoma
- Japan
| | - Wei Zhang
- Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application
- College of Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
- Soochow University
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16
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Myrgorodska I, Meinert C, Martins Z, Le Sergeant d'Hendecourt L, Meierhenrich UJ. Molekülchiralität in Meteoriten und interstellarem Eis und das Chiralitätsexperiment an Bord der Kometenmission Rosetta der ESA. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201409354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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17
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Myrgorodska I, Meinert C, Martins Z, Le Sergeant d'Hendecourt L, Meierhenrich UJ. Molecular chirality in meteorites and interstellar ices, and the chirality experiment on board the ESA cometary Rosetta mission. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014; 54:1402-12. [PMID: 25431250 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201409354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Life, as it is known to us, uses exclusively L-amino acid and D-sugar enantiomers for the molecular architecture of proteins and nucleic acids. This Minireview explores current models of the original symmetry-breaking influence that led to the exogenic delivery to Earth of prebiotic molecules with a slight enantiomeric excess. We provide a short overview of enantiomeric enhancements detected in bodies of extraterrestrial origin, such as meteorites, and interstellar ices simulated in the laboratory. Data are interpreted from different points of view, namely, photochirogenesis, parity violation in the weak nuclear interaction, and enantioenrichment through phase transitions. Photochemically induced enantiomeric imbalances are discussed more specifically in the topical context of the "chirality module" on board the cometary Rosetta spacecraft of the ESA. This device will perform the first enantioselective in situ analyses of samples taken from a cometary nucleus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iuliia Myrgorodska
- Institut de Chimie de Nice ICN, UMR CNRS 7272, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Faculté des Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108, Nice (France) http://www.unice.fr/meierhenrich/
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18
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Fujiki M, Yoshida K, Suzuki N, Zhang J, Zhang W, Zhu X. Mirror symmetry breaking and restoration within μm-sized polymer particles in optofluidic media by pumping circularly polarised light. RSC Adv 2013. [DOI: 10.1039/c3ra22709j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
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19
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Wu M, Walker SI, Higgs PG. Autocatalytic replication and homochirality in biopolymers: is homochirality a requirement of life or a result of it? ASTROBIOLOGY 2012; 12:818-829. [PMID: 22931294 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2012.0819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
A key step in the origin of life is the establishment of autocatalytic cycles controlled by biopolymer catalysts. These catalysts (either ribozymes or proteins) are composed of homochiral monomers. Homochirality in living systems is maintained because biopolymers are asymmetric in their catalysis and synthesize molecules of their own handedness. Asymmetric autocatalysis is also possible with small molecules, as demonstrated by the Soai reaction, but it is rare. As far as we know, single nucleotides and amino acids are not autocatalytic. The observation that organic molecules in meteorites can have an enantiomeric excess of a few percent suggests that the prebiotic mixture may have had a partial chiral bias that was caused by external physical influences. Here, we consider the way that such a partial prebiotic bias would influence the origin of ribozymes in an RNA world scenario. We have previously shown how a transition to a living state can occur in a model for RNA polymerization. Here, we add chirality to the problem by considering simultaneous synthesis and polymerization of left- and right-handed monomers. The two chemical synthesis rates may be equal or unequal, due to physical or chemical effects prior to the origin of life. We determine the stationary states of this reaction system. The nonliving state is racemic, or slightly biased. There are two living states that are almost completely homochiral, whether or not the nonliving state is biased. It is a feature of our model that, for some regions of parameter space, living and nonliving states are both found to be stable under the same conditions. The origin of life therefore involves a stochastic transition between the nonliving and living states. Our model extends previous theories by treating the origin of life and the origin of chirality as aspects of the same model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Wu
- Origins Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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20
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Macdermott AJ. Chiroptical signatures of life and fundamental physics. Chirality 2012; 24:764-9. [PMID: 22730157 DOI: 10.1002/chir.22076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2012] [Accepted: 04/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
This paper aims to inspire experimentalists to carry out proposed new chiroptical experiments springing from the theoretical study of the role of parity violation in the origin of biomolecular homochirality and to provide a brief update on the current status of calculations of the electroweak parity-violating energy difference (PVED) between enantiomers. If the PVED did select life's handedness, we would expect to find life on other planets consistently using the same hand as terrestrial biochemistry. Much more importantly, even finding the "wrong" hand (rather than a racemic mixture) on another planet could be the homochiral signature of life, and we discuss our proposal for chiroptical detection of life on extra-solar planets. The PVED may also have an exciting future as a "molecular footprint" of fundamental physics: comparison of calculated PVEDs with measured values could one day allow chemists to do "table-top particle physics" more cheaply with improved chiroptical techniques instead of ever larger particle accelerators. We discuss our proposed chiroptical method to measure the PVED by using molecular beams. To our knowledge, optical rotation has not yet been measured in molecular beams, but the rewards of doing so include a host of other "first ever" results in addition to measurement of the PVED.
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21
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Cintas P, Viedma C. On the physical basis of asymmetry and homochirality. Chirality 2012; 24:894-908. [PMID: 22678980 DOI: 10.1002/chir.22028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2011] [Accepted: 02/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Mirror symmetry breaking is ubiquitous in our visible universe taking place in elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. Molecular chirality is not biogenic in itself, although its detection is often considered a biosignature, a conjecture inferred from the fact that we do not know life devoid of homochirality. The question of whether there is a connection between the cosmic preference for one enantiomer, as imposed by the weak force, and the single chirality displayed on Earth is vividly debated. This article gives a glimpse on the origin of asymmetry from a cosmological perspective and on physical transformations that lead to an enantiomeric imbalance, leaving chemical reactions essentially aside. These processes are more plausible as sources of prebiotic chirality than asymmetric amplifications requiring unnatural substrates and conditions and fighting against racemization. The latter may actually be a friend, not foe, and a driving force for enantioselection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Cintas
- Departamento de Química Orgánica e Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.
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22
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Evans AC, Meinert C, Giri C, Goesmann F, Meierhenrich UJ. Chirality, photochemistry and the detection of amino acids in interstellar ice analogues and comets. Chem Soc Rev 2012; 41:5447-58. [PMID: 22576562 DOI: 10.1039/c2cs35051c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The primordial appearance of chiral amino acids was an essential component of the asymmetric evolution of life on Earth. In this tutorial review we will explore the original life-generating, symmetry-breaking event and summarise recent thoughts on the origin of enantiomeric excess in the universe. We will then highlight the transfer of asymmetry from chiral photons to racemic amino acids and elucidate current experimental data on the photochemical synthesis of amino and diamino acid structures in simulated interstellar and circumstellar ice environments. The chirality inherent within actual interstellar (cometary) ice environments will be considered in this discussion: in 2014 the Rosetta Lander Philae onboard the Rosetta space probe is planned to detach from the orbiter and soft-land on the surface of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is equipped for the in situ enantioselective analysis of chiral prebiotic organic species in cometary ices. The scientific design of this mission will therefore be presented in the context of analysing the formation of amino acid structures within interstellar ice analogues as a means towards furthering understanding of the origin of asymmetric biological molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Evans
- University of Cambridge, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge CB3 0DF, UK.
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23
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Sarker PK, Takahashi JI, Kawamoto Y, Obayashi Y, Kaneko T, Kobayashi K. Photostability of Iiovaline and its precursor 5-Ethyl-5- methylhydantoin exposed to simulated space radiations. Int J Mol Sci 2012; 13:1006-1017. [PMID: 22312300 PMCID: PMC3269734 DOI: 10.3390/ijms13011006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2011] [Revised: 01/04/2012] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Aqueous solutions of isovaline and its precursor molecule, 5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin, were irradiated with ultraviolet and γ-ray photons, to evaluate their structural stability against space radiation. The degree of photolysis was measured and irradiation products were identified using chiral, reversed-phase and ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. The experimental results show that the degree of photolysis of 5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin is more significant than that of isovaline under ultraviolet light irradiation, while the results under γ-ray irradiation are the opposite. As the products of isovaline photolysis, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and alanine were dominantly detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Palash K. Sarker
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan; E-Mails: (Y.K.); (Y.O.); (T.K.); (K.K.)
| | - Jun-ichi Takahashi
- NTT Microsystem Integration Laboratories, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi 243-0198, Japan; E-Mail:
| | - Yukinori Kawamoto
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan; E-Mails: (Y.K.); (Y.O.); (T.K.); (K.K.)
| | - Yumiko Obayashi
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan; E-Mails: (Y.K.); (Y.O.); (T.K.); (K.K.)
| | - Takeo Kaneko
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan; E-Mails: (Y.K.); (Y.O.); (T.K.); (K.K.)
| | - Kensei Kobayashi
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan; E-Mails: (Y.K.); (Y.O.); (T.K.); (K.K.)
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24
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Thiemann WHP. Non-racemic amino acid production by ultraviolet irradiation of achiral interstellar ice analogs with circularly polarized light: comment on "Photochirogenesis: photochemical models on the absolute asymmetric formation of amino acids in interstellar space" by Uwe J. Meierhenrich et al. Phys Life Rev 2011; 8:333-338. [PMID: 21907648 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/727/2/l27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2011] [Accepted: 08/26/2011] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram H-P Thiemann
- FB 02 Dept. Physical Chemistry, University Bremen, Leobener Str. D 28259 Bremen, Germany.
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25
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Meinert C, de Marcellus P, d'Hendecourt LLS, Nahon L, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Bredehöft JH, Meierhenrich UJ. Photochirogenesis: photochemical models on the absolute asymmetric formation of amino acids in interstellar space. Phys Life Rev 2011; 8:307-30. [PMID: 21924690 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2011.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2011] [Accepted: 08/26/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Proteins of all living organisms including plants, animals, and humans are made up of amino acid monomers that show identical stereochemical L-configuration. Hypotheses for the origin of this symmetry breaking in biomolecules include the absolute asymmetric photochemistry model by which interstellar ultraviolet (UV) circularly polarized light (CPL) induces an enantiomeric excess in chiral organic molecules in the interstellar/circumstellar media. This scenario is supported by a) the detection of amino acids in the organic residues of UV-photo-processed interstellar ice analogues, b) the occurrence of L-enantiomer-enriched amino acids in carbonaceous meteorites, and c) the observation of CPL of the same helicity over large distance scales in the massive star-forming region of Orion. These topics are of high importance in topical biophysical research and will be discussed in this review. Further evidence that amino acids and other molecules of prebiotic interest are asymmetrically formed in space comes from studies on the enantioselective photolysis of amino acids by UV-CPL. Also, experiments have been performed on the absolute asymmetric photochemical synthesis of enantiomer-enriched amino acids from mixtures of astrophysically relevant achiral precursor molecules using UV-circularly polarized photons. Both approaches are based on circular dichroic transitions of amino acids that will be highlighted here as well. These results have strong implications on our current understanding of how life's precursor molecules were possibly built and how life selected the left-handed form of proteinogenic amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Meinert
- Faculté des Sciences, UMR 6001 CNRS, LCMBA, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, France.
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26
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Tamura K. Molecular basis for chiral selection in RNA aminoacylation. Int J Mol Sci 2011; 12:4745-57. [PMID: 21845109 PMCID: PMC3155382 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12074745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2011] [Revised: 06/29/2011] [Accepted: 07/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The chiral-selective aminoacylation of an RNA minihelix is a potential progenitor to modern tRNA-based protein synthesis using l-amino acids. This article describes the molecular basis for this chiral selection. The extended double helical form of an RNA minihelix with a CCA triplet (acceptor of an amino acid), an aminoacyl phosphate donor nucleotide (mimic of aminoacyl-AMP), and a bridging nucleotide facilitates chiral-selective aminoacylation. Energetically, the reaction is characterized by a downhill reaction wherein an amino acid migrates from a high-energy acyl phosphate linkage to a lower-energy carboxyl ester linkage. The reaction occurs under the restriction that the nucleophilic attack of O, from 3′-OH in the terminal CCA, to C, from C=O in the acyl phosphate linkage, must occur at a Bürgi-Dunitz angle, which is defined as the O–C=O angle of approximately 105°. The extended double helical form results in a steric hindrance at the side chain of the amino acid leading to chiral preference combined with cation coordinations in the amino acid and the phosphate oxygen. Such a system could have developed into the protein biosynthetic system with an exclusively chiral component (l-amino acids) via (proto) ribosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Tamura
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
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27
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Weissbuch I, Lahav M. Crystalline Architectures as Templates of Relevance to the Origins of Homochirality. Chem Rev 2011; 111:3236-67. [DOI: 10.1021/cr1002479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Weissbuch
- Department of Materials and Interfaces, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, 76100
| | - Meir Lahav
- Department of Materials and Interfaces, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, 76100
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28
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Travnikova O, Liu JC, Lindblad A, Nicolas C, Söderström J, Kimberg V, Gel'mukhanov F, Miron C. Circularly polarized x rays: another probe of ultrafast molecular decay dynamics. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2010; 105:233001. [PMID: 21231455 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.105.233001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Dissociative nuclear motion in core-excited molecular states leads to a splitting of the fragment Auger lines: the Auger-Doppler effect. We present here for the first time experimental evidence for an Auger-Doppler effect following F1s → a(1g)* inner-shell excitation by circularly polarized x rays in SF(6). In spite of a uniform distribution of the dissociating S-F bonds near the polarization plane of the light, the intersection between the subpopulation of molecules selected by the core excitation with the cone of dissociation induces a strong anisotropy in the distribution of the S-F bonds that contributes to the scattering profile measured in the polarization plane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Travnikova
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, F-91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
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29
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Photochirogenesis: Photochemical Models on the Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality. Symmetry (Basel) 2010. [DOI: 10.3390/sym2021055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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