Ruiz-Bermejo M, Menor-Salván C, Osuna-Esteban S, Veintemillas-Verdaguer S. The effects of ferrous and other ions on the abiotic formation of biomolecules using aqueous aerosols and spark discharges.
ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2007;
37:507-21. [PMID:
17899439 DOI:
10.1007/s11084-007-9107-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2006] [Accepted: 07/14/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
It has been postulated that the oceans on early Earth had a salinity of 1.5 to 2 times the modern value and a pH between 4 and 10. Moreover, the presence of the banded iron formations shows that Fe(+2) was present in significant concentrations in the primitive oceans. Assuming the hypotheses above, in this work we explore the effects of Fe(+2) and other ions in the generation of biomolecules in prebiotic simulation experiments using spark discharges and aqueous aerosols. These aerosols have been prepared using different sources of Fe(+2), such as FeS, FeCl(2) and FeCO(3), and other salts (alkaline and alkaline earth chlorides and sodium bicarbonate at pH = 5.8). In all these experiments, we observed the formation of some amino acids, carboxylic acids and heterocycles, involved in biological processes. An interesting consequence of the presence of soluble Fe(+2) was the formation of Prussian Blue, Fe(4)[Fe(CN)(6)](3), which has been suggested as a possible reservoir of HCN in the initial prebiotic conditions on the Earth.
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