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Bocková J, Jones NC, Hoffmann SV, Meinert C. The astrochemical evolutionary traits of phospholipid membrane homochirality. Nat Rev Chem 2024:10.1038/s41570-024-00627-w. [PMID: 39025922 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-024-00627-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Compartmentalization is crucial for the evolution of life. Present-day phospholipid membranes exhibit a high level of complexity and species-dependent homochirality, the so-called lipid divide. It is possible that less stable, yet more dynamic systems, promoting out-of-equilibrium environments, facilitated the evolution of life at its early stages. The composition of the preceding primitive membranes and the evolutionary route towards complexity and homochirality remain unexplained. Organics-rich carbonaceous chondrites are evidence of the ample diversity of interstellar chemistry, which may have enriched the prebiotic milieu on early Earth. This Review evaluates the detections of simple amphiphiles - likely ancestors of membrane phospholipids - in extraterrestrial samples and analogues, along with potential pathways to form primitive compartments on primeval Earth. The chiroptical properties of the chiral backbones of phospholipids provide a guide for future investigations into the origins of phospholipid membrane homochirality. We highlight a plausible common pathway towards homochirality of lipids, amino acids, and sugars starting from enantioenriched monomers. Finally, given their high recalcitrance and resistance to degradation, lipids are among the best candidate biomarkers in exobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Bocková
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | - Nykola C Jones
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Søren V Hoffmann
- ISA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cornelia Meinert
- Institut de Chimie de Nice, CNRS UMR 7272, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France.
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Ingman ER, Laurinavicius D, Zhang J, Schrauwen JGM, Redlich B, Noble JA, Ioppolo S, McCoustra MRS, Brown WA. Infrared photodesorption of CO from astrophysically relevant ices studied with a free-electron laser. Faraday Discuss 2023; 245:446-466. [PMID: 37314039 DOI: 10.1039/d3fd00024a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The infrared excitation and photodesorption of carbon monoxide (CO) and water-containing ices have been investigated using the FEL-2 free-electron laser light source at the FELIX laboratory, Radboud University, The Netherlands. CO-water mixed ices grown on a gold-coated copper substrate at 18 K were investigated. No CO photodesorption was observed, within our detection limits, following irradiation with light resonant with the C-O vibration (4.67 μm). CO photodesorption was seen as a result of irradiation with infrared light resonant with water vibrational modes at 2.9 μm and 12 μm. Changes to the structure of the water ice, which modifies the environment of the CO in the mixed ice, were also seen subsequent to irradiation at these wavelengths. No water desorption was observed at any wavelength of irradiation. Photodesorption at both wavelengths is due to a single-photon process. Photodesorption arises due to a combination of fast and slow processes of indirect resonant photodesorption (fast), and photon-induced desorption resulting from energy accumulation in the librational heat bath of the solid water (slow) and metal-substrate-mediated laser-induced thermal desorption (slow). Estimated cross-sections for the slow processes at 2.9 μm and 12 μm were found to be ∼7.5 × 10-18 cm2 and ∼4.5 × 10-19 cm2, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Ingman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK.
| | | | - Jin Zhang
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | | | - Britta Redlich
- FELIX Laboratory, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 ED, The Netherlands
| | - Jennifer A Noble
- Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires (PIIM), CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH, UK
| | - Sergio Ioppolo
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Wendy A Brown
- Department of Chemistry, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK.
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Potapov A, McCoustra M. Physics and chemistry on the surface of cosmic dust grains: a laboratory view. INT REV PHYS CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/0144235x.2021.1918498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexey Potapov
- Laboratory Astrophysics Group of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin McCoustra
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
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Potapov A, Jäger C, Henning T. Ice Coverage of Dust Grains in Cold Astrophysical Environments. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 124:221103. [PMID: 32567895 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.124.221103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Surface processes on cosmic solids in cold astrophysical environments lead to gas-phase depletion and molecular complexity. Most astrophysical models assume that the molecular ice forms a thick multilayer substrate, not interacting with the dust surface. In contrast, we present experimental results demonstrating the importance of the surface for porous grains. We show that cosmic dust grains may be covered by a few monolayers of ice only. This implies that the role of dust surface structure, composition, and reactivity in models describing surface processes in cold interstellar, protostellar, and protoplanetary environments has to be reevaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexey Potapov
- Laboratory Astrophysics Group of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Solid State Physics, Helmholtzweg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Cornelia Jäger
- Laboratory Astrophysics Group of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Solid State Physics, Helmholtzweg 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Henning
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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Rosenberg DJ, Alayoglu S, Kostecki R, Ahmed M. Synthesis of microporous silica nanoparticles to study water phase transitions by vibrational spectroscopy. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2019; 1:4878-4887. [PMID: 36133105 PMCID: PMC9419861 DOI: 10.1039/c9na00544g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Silica can take many forms, and its interaction with water can change dramatically at the interface. Silica based systems offer a rich tapestry to probe the confinement of water as size and volume can be controlled by various templating strategies and synthetic procedures. To this end, microporous silica nanoparticles have been developed by a reverse microemulsion method utilizing zinc nanoclusters encapsulated in hydroxyl-terminated polyamidoamine (PAMAM-OH) dendrimers as a soft template. These nanoparticles were made tunable within the outer diameter range of 20-50 nm with a core mesopore of 2-15 nm. Synthesized nanoparticles were used to study the effects of surface area and microporous volumes on the vibrational spectroscopy of water. These spectra reveal contributions from bulk interfacial/interparticle water, ice-like surface water, liquid-like water, and hydrated silica surfaces suggesting that microporous silica nanoparticles allow a way to probe silica water interactions at the molecular scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Rosenberg
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA-94720 USA
- Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California Berkeley California 94720 USA
| | - Selim Alayoglu
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA-94720 USA
| | - Robert Kostecki
- Energy Storage & Distributed Resources Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA-94720 USA
| | - Musahid Ahmed
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA-94720 USA
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Stubbing JW, Salter TL, Brown WA, Taj S, McCoustra MRS. A fibre-coupled UHV-compatible variable angle reflection-absorption UV/visible spectrometer. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2018; 89:054102. [PMID: 29864813 DOI: 10.1063/1.5025405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We present a novel UV/visible reflection-absorption spectrometer for determining the refractive index, n, and thicknesses, d, of ice films. Knowledge of the refractive index of these films is of particular relevance to the astrochemical community, where they can be used to model radiative transfer and spectra of various regions of space. In order to make these models more accurate, values of n need to be recorded under astronomically relevant conditions, that is, under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and cryogenic cooling. Several design considerations were taken into account to allow UHV compatibility combined with ease of use. The key design feature is a stainless steel rhombus coupled to an external linear drive (z-shift) allowing a variable reflection geometry to be achieved, which is necessary for our analysis. Test data for amorphous benzene ice are presented as a proof of concept, the film thickness, d, was found to vary linearly with surface exposure, and a value for n of 1.43 ± 0.07 was determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- J W Stubbing
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - T L Salter
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - W A Brown
- Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom
| | - S Taj
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
| | - M R S McCoustra
- Institute of Chemical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
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Rosu-Finsen A, McCoustra MRS. Impact of oxygen chemistry on model interstellar grain surfaces. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:5368-5376. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp05480g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection–absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) are used to probe the effect of atomic and molecular oxygen (O and O2) beams on amorphous silica (aSiO2) and water (H2O) surfaces (porous-amorphous solid water; p-ASW, compact amorphous solid water; c-ASW, and crystalline solid water; CSW).
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Rosu-Finsen
- Institute of Chemical Sciences
- Heriot-Watt University
- Riccarton
- Edinburgh
- UK
| | - M. R. S. McCoustra
- Institute of Chemical Sciences
- Heriot-Watt University
- Riccarton
- Edinburgh
- UK
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