Ab Initio Study of the Formation of Glycine via Amino Acetonitrile and Amino-Cyano-Acetic Acid

Computational studies on the possible formation of glycine via open shell gas-phase chemistry in the interstellar medium

Glycine is the simplest proteinogenic amino acid. It has significant astrobiological implications owing to the ongoing investigation for its detection in the interstellar medium (ISM). Hence, a suitable mechanistic elucidation for its formation in the ISM is of current research interest. In the present work, by employing electronic structure calculations [UCCSD(T) and density functional theory (DFT)], various plausible chemical pathways in the gas phase have been examined for the formation of glycine (whose existence has been indirectly proposed in the ISM) and other simple amino acids (yet to be detected in the ISM) from some simpler molecules present in the ISM. This work suggests that step 1: HO-CO (radical) + CH₂NH → NHCH₂COOH (radical) and step 2a: NHCH₂COOH (radical) + H₂ → glycine + H (radical) have very small barriers of 0.14 kcal mol^-1 and ∼3 kcal mol^-1, respectively (easily surmountable at a temperature of ∼50 K under putative interstellar conditions). Hence this should likely be feasible in interstellar gas-phase chemistry. Therefore, HO-CO (radical), CH₂NH, and H₂ could be the possible precursors for the formation of glycine (subject to the presence of the HO-CO radical). The energetic information related to the interstellar reactions, and how this work takes the putative interstellar conditions into account are presented. This paper also highlights how a reaction found to be unsuitable for interstellar molecular evolution via surface chemistry could nonetheless occur via gas-phase chemistry. Based on our results, this work also recommends detecting three new open-shell molecules, HO-CO radical, NHCH₂COOH radical, and NH₂CHCOOH radical, in the ISM.

The influence of crystallinity degree on the glycine decomposition induced by 1 MeV proton bombardment in space analog conditions

Glycine is the simplest proteinaceous amino acid and is present in all life-forms on Earth. In aqueous solutions, it appears mainly as zwitterion glycine (+NH3CH2COO-); however, in solid phase, it may be found in amorphous or crystalline (α, β, and γ) forms. The crystalline forms differ from each other by the packing of zwitterions in the unitary cells and by the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This molecular species has been extensively detected in carbonaceous meteorites and was recently observed in the cometary samples returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust spacecraft. In space, glycine is exposed to several radiation fields at different temperatures. We present an experimental study on the destruction of zwitterionic glycine crystals at room temperature by 1 MeV protons, in which the dependence of the destruction rates of the α-glycine and β-glycine crystals on bombardment fluence is investigated. The samples were analyzed in situ by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry at different proton fluences. The experiments occurred under ultrahigh vacuum conditions at the Van de Graaff accelerator lab at the Pontifical Catholic University at Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil. For low fluences, the dissociation cross section of α-glycine was observed to be 2.5×10(-14) cm2, a value roughly 5 times higher than the dissociation cross section found for β-glycine. The estimated half-lives of α-glycine and β-glycine zwitterionic forms extrapolated to the Earth orbit environment are 9×10(5) and 4×10(6) years, respectively. In the diffuse interstellar medium the estimated values are 1 order of magnitude lower. These results suggest that pristine interstellar β-glycine is the one most likely to survive the hostile environments of space radiation. A small feature around 1650-1700 cm(-1), tentatively attributed to an amide functional group, was observed in the IR spectra of irradiated samples, suggesting that cosmic rays may induce peptide bond synthesis in glycine crystals. Combining this finding with the fact that this form has the highest solubility among the other glycine polymorphs, we suggest that β-glycine is the one most likely to have produced the first peptides on primitive Earth.

Formation routes of interstellar glycine involving carboxylic acids: possible favoritism between gas and solid phase

Despite the extensive search for glycine (NH₂CH₂COOH) and other amino acids in molecular clouds associated with star-forming regions, only upper limits have been derived from radio observations. Nevertheless, two of glycine's precursors, formic acid and acetic acid, have been abundantly detected. Although both precursors may lead to glycine formation, the efficiency of reaction depends on their abundance and survival in the presence of a radiation field. These facts could promote some favoritism in the reaction pathways in the gas phase and solid phase (ice). Glycine and these two simplest carboxylic acids are found in many meteorites. Recently, glycine was also observed in cometary samples returned by the Stardust space probe. The goal of this work was to perform theoretical calculations for several interstellar reactions involving the simplest carboxylic acids as well as the carboxyl radical (COOH) in both gas and solid (ice) phase to understand which reactions could be the most favorable to produce glycine in interstellar regions fully illuminated by soft X-rays and UV, such as star-forming regions. The calculations were performed at four different levels for the gas phase (B3LYP/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-31++G**, MP2/6-31G*, and MP2/6-31++G**) and at MP2/6-31++G** level for the solid phase (ice). The current two-body reactions (thermochemical calculation) were combined with previous experimental data on the photodissociation of carboxylic acids to promote possible favoritism for glycine formation in the scenario involving formic and acetic acid in both gas and solid phase. Given that formic acid is destroyed more in the gas phase by soft X-rays than acetic acid is, we suggest that in the gas phase the most favorable reactions are acetic acid with NH or NH₂OH. Another possible reaction involves NH₂CH₂ and COOH, one of the most-produced radicals from the photodissociation of acetic acid. In the solid phase, we suggest that the reactions of formic acid with NH₂CH or NH₂CH₂OH are the most favorable from the thermochemical point of view.

Radical formation of amino acid precursors in interstellar regions? Ser, Cys and Asp

It is proposed that the glycine precursor NH(2)CH(2)CN may be synthesised in interstellar dust clouds by the radical combination reactions NH(2)˙ + ˙CH(2)CN → NH(2)CH(2)CN (ΔG = -302 kJ mol(-1)) and/or NH(2)CH(2)˙ + ˙CN → NH(2)CH(2)CN (ΔG = -414 kJ mol(-1)). All calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory. This paper extends that concept to radical/radical coupling reactions to form Ser, Cys and Asp precursor nitriles. The hydrogen abstraction process NH(2)CH(2)CN + HO˙→ NH(2)˙CHCN + H(2)O (ΔG = -130 kJ mol(-1)) is suggested to precede the radical coupling reactions NH(2)˙CHCN + R˙→ NH(2)CHRCN (R˙ = ˙CH(2)OH, ˙CH(2)SH and ˙CH(2)CN) to form nitrile precursors of the amino acids Ser, Cys and Asp. These three reactions are all favourable (ΔG = -240, -227 and -223 kJ mol(-1)). The radical species ˙CH(2)NH(2), ˙CH(2)OH, ˙CH(2)SH and ˙CH(2)CN are shown to be stable for the microsecond timeframe by a combination of theoretical calculations and the experimental mass spectrometric neutralization/reionization procedure.

The formation of the stable radicals ˙CH2CN, CH3˙CHCN and ˙CH2CH2CN from the anions−CH2CN, CH3−CHCN and−CH2CH2CN in the gas phase. A joint experimental and theoretical study

Franck-Condon one-electron oxidation of the stable anions -CH2CN, CH3-CHCN and -CH2CH2CN (in the collision cell of a reverse-sector mass spectrometer) produce the radicals .CH2CN, CH3.CHCN and .CH2CH2CN, which neither rearrange nor decompose during the microsecond duration of the neutralisation-reionisation experiment. Acetonitrile (CH3CN) and propionitrile (CH3CH2CN) are known interstellar molecules and radical abstraction of these could produce energised .CH2CN and CH3.CHCN, which might react with NH2. (a known interstellar radical) on interstellar dust or ice surfaces to form NH2CH2CN and NH2CH(CH3)CN, precursors of the amino acids glycine and alanine.

Protonation thermochemistry of aminoacetonitrile

The gas-phase basicity (GB) of aminoacetonitrile (NH2CH2CN, 1) has been determined from measurement of proton transfer equilibrium constants in an ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (GB(1) = 789.3 +/- 1.0 kJ x mol(-1)). Molecular orbital calculations up to the G2 level demonstrate that protonation occurs preferentially on the nitrogen atom of the NH2 group, and provide a theoretical proton affinity (PA(1)) of 824.0 kJ x mol(-1). Exact calculation of the entropy associated with hindered rotations and consideration of Boltzman distribution of conformers allow a theoretical estimate of the molar protonation entropy S degrees (1H+) - S degrees (1) = 8.6 J x mol(-1) x K(-1). Combining this value with experimental GB(1) leads to an 'experimental' proton affinity of 819.2 kJ x mol(-1), in close agreement with the G2 expectation.