1
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Fox AC, Boettger JD, Berger EL, Burton AS. The Role of the CuCl Active Complex in the Stereoselectivity of the Salt-Induced Peptide Formation Reaction: Insights from Density Functional Theory Calculations. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1796. [PMID: 37763200 PMCID: PMC10532638 DOI: 10.3390/life13091796] [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: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The salt-induced peptide formation (SIPF) reaction is a prebiotically plausible mechanism for the spontaneous polymerization of amino acids into peptides on early Earth. Experimental investigations of the SIPF reaction have found that in certain conditions, the l enantiomer is more reactive than the d enantiomer, indicating its potential role in the rise of biohomochirality. Previous work hypothesized that the distortion of the CuCl active complex toward a tetrahedral-like structure increases the central chirality on the Cu ion, which amplifies the inherent parity-violating energy differences between l- and d-amino acid enantiomers, leading to stereoselectivity. Computational evaluations of this theory have been limited to the protonated-neutral l + l forms of the CuCl active complex. Here, density functional theory methods were used to compare the energies and geometries of the homochiral (l + l and d + d) and heterochiral (l + d) CuCl-amino acid complexes for both the positive-neutral and neutral-neutral forms for alanine, valine, and proline. Significant energy differences were not observed between different chiral active complexes (i.e., d + d, l + l vs. l + d), and the distortions of active complexes between stereoselective systems and non-selective systems were not consistent, indicating that the geometry of the active complex is not the primary driver of the observed stereoselectivity of the SIPF reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison C. Fox
- NASA Postdoctoral Program, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Jason D. Boettger
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA;
| | - Eve L. Berger
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Aaron S. Burton
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
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2
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Cueto-Díaz EJ, Gálvez-Martínez S, Colin-García M, Mateo-Martí E. A New Approach in Prebiotic Chemistry Studies: Proline Sorption Triggered by Mineral Surfaces Analysed Using XPS. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13040908. [PMID: 37109437 PMCID: PMC10141706 DOI: 10.3390/life13040908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of minerals in the origin of life and prebiotic evolution remains unknown and controversial. Mineral surfaces have the potential to facilitate prebiotic polymerization due to their ability to adsorb and concentrate biomolecules that subsequently can catalyse reactions; however, the precise nature of the interaction between the mineral host and the guest biomolecule still needs to be understood. In this context, we spectroscopically characterized, using infrared, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, the interaction between L-proline and montmorillonite, olivine, iron disulphide, and haematite (minerals of prebiotic interest), by evaluating their interaction from a liquid medium. This work provides insight into the chemical processes occurring between proline, the only cyclic amino acid, and this selection of minerals, each of them bearing a particular chemical and crystal structures. Proline was successfully adsorbed on montmorillonite, haematite, olivine, and iron disulphide in anionic and zwitterionic chemical forms, being the predominant form directly related to the mineral structure and composition. Silicates (montmorillonite) dominate adsorption, whereas iron oxides (haematite) show the lowest molecular affinity. This approach will help to understand structure-affinity relationship between the mineral surfaces and proline, one of the nine amino acids generated in the Miller-Urey experiment.
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3
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Pavan C, Escolano-Casado G, Bellomo C, Cananà S, Tomatis M, Leinardi R, Mino L, Turci F. Nearly free silanols drive the interaction of crystalline silica polymorphs with membranes: Implications for mineral toxicity. Front Chem 2023; 10:1092221. [PMID: 36726450 PMCID: PMC9884702 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.1092221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Crystalline silica (CS) is a well-known hazardous material that causes severe diseases including silicosis, lung cancer, and autoimmune diseases. However, the hazard associated to crystalline silica is extremely variable and depends on some specific characteristics, including crystal structure and surface chemistry. The crystalline silica polymorphs share the SiO2 stoichiometry and differentiate for crystal structure. The different crystal lattices in turn expose differently ordered hydroxyl groups at the crystal surface, i.e., the silanols. The nearly free silanols (NFS), a specific population of weakly interacting silanols, have been recently advanced as the key surface feature that governs recognition mechanisms between quartz and cell membrane, initiating toxicity. We showed here that the nearly free silanols occur on the other crystalline silica polymorphs and take part in the molecular interactions with biomembranes. A set of crystalline silica polymorphs, including quartz, cristobalite, tridymite, coesite, and stishovite, was physico-chemically characterized and the membranolytic activity was assessed using red blood cells as model membranes. Infrared spectroscopy in highly controlled conditions was used to profile the surface silanol topochemistry and the occurrence of surface nearly free silanols on crystalline silica polymorphs. All crystalline silica polymorphs, but stishovite were membranolytic. Notably, pristine stishovite did not exhibited surface nearly free silanols. The topochemistry of surface silanols was modulated by thermal treatments, and we showed that the occurrence of nearly free silanols paralleled the membranolytic activity for the crystalline silica polymorphs. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure-activity relationship between nearly free silanols and membranolytic activity of crystalline silica polymorphs, offering a possible clue for interpreting the molecular mechanisms associated with silica hazard and bio-minero-chemical interfacial phenomena, including prebiotic chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Pavan
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,“G. Scansetti” Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,Louvain Centre for Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Guillermo Escolano-Casado
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces Interdepartmental Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Chiara Bellomo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,“G. Scansetti” Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Stefania Cananà
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,“G. Scansetti” Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Maura Tomatis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,“G. Scansetti” Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Riccardo Leinardi
- Louvain Centre for Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lorenzo Mino
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces Interdepartmental Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesco Turci
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,“G. Scansetti” Interdepartmental Centre for Studies on Asbestos and Other Toxic Particulates, University of Turin, Turin, Italy,*Correspondence: Francesco Turci,
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4
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Pisani WA, Jenness GR, Schutt TC, Larson SL, Shukla MK. Preferential Adsorption of Prominent Amino Acids in the Urease Enzyme of Sporosarcina pasteurii on Arid Soil Components: A Periodic DFT Study. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:13414-13428. [PMID: 36279412 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The urease enzyme is commonly used in microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) and enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) to heal and strengthen soil. Improving our understanding of the adsorption of the urease enzyme with various soil surfaces can lead to advancements in the MICP and EICP engineering methods as well as other areas of soil science. In this work, we use density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the urease enzyme's binding ability with four common arid soil components: quartz, corundum, albite, and hematite. As the urease enzyme cannot directly be simulated with DFT due to its size, the amino acids comprising at least 5% of the urease enzyme were simulated instead. An adsorption model incorporating the Gibbs free energy was used to determine the existence of amino acid-mineral binding modes. It was found that the nine simulated amino acids bind preferentially to the different soil components. Alanine favors corundum, glycine and threonine favor hematite, and aspartic acid favors albite. It was found that, under the standard environmental conditions considered here, amino acid binding to quartz is unfavorable. In the polymeric form where the side chains would dominate the binding interactions, hematite favors aspartic acid through its R-OH group and corundum favors glutamic acid through its R-Ket group. Overall, our model predicts that the urease enzyme produced by Sporosarcina pasteurii can bind to various oxides found in arid soil through its alanine, glycine, aspartic/glutamic acid, or threonine residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- William A Pisani
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee37830, United States
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi39180, United States
| | - Glen R Jenness
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi39180, United States
| | - Timothy C Schutt
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi39180, United States
| | - Steven L Larson
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi39180, United States
| | - Manoj K Shukla
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi39180, United States
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5
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Cruz-Hernández AE, Colín-García M, Ortega-Gutiérrez F, Mateo-Martí E. Komatiites as Complex Adsorption Surfaces for Amino Acids in Prebiotic Environments, a Prebiotic Chemistry Essay. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:1788. [PMID: 36362942 PMCID: PMC9696357 DOI: 10.3390/life12111788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Komatiites represent the oldest known terrestrial rocks, and their composition has been cataloged as the closest to that of the first terrestrial crust after the cooling of the magma ocean. These rocks could have been present in multiple environments on the early Earth and served as concentrators of organic molecules. In this study, the adsorption of five amino acids (glycine, lysine, histidine, arginine, and aspartic acid) on a natural komatiite, a simulated komatiite, and the minerals olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase were analyzed under three different pH values: acid pH (5.5), natural pH of the aqueous solution of each amino acid and alkaline pH (11). Adsorption experiments were performed in solid-liquid suspensions and organic molecules were analyzed by spectrophotometry. The main objective of this essay was to determine if the complex surfaces could have participated as concentrators of amino acids in scenarios of the primitive Earth and if the adsorption responds to the change of charge of the molecules. The results showed that komatiite is capable of adsorbing amino acids in different amounts depending on the experimental conditions. In total, 75 systems were analyzed that show different adsorptions, which implies that different interactions are involved, particularly in relation to the type of amino acid, the type of solid material and the conditions of the medium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail E. Cruz-Hernández
- Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | - María Colín-García
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | | | - Eva Mateo-Martí
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) CSIC-INTA, Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
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6
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Saha A, Yi R, Fahrenbach AC, Wang A, Jia TZ. A Physicochemical Consideration of Prebiotic Microenvironments for Self-Assembly and Prebiotic Chemistry. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12101595. [PMID: 36295030 PMCID: PMC9604842 DOI: 10.3390/life12101595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The origin of life on Earth required myriads of chemical and physical processes. These include the formation of the planet and its geological structures, the formation of the first primitive chemicals, reaction, and assembly of these primitive chemicals to form more complex or functional products and assemblies, and finally the formation of the first cells (or protocells) on early Earth, which eventually evolved into modern cells. Each of these processes presumably occurred within specific prebiotic reaction environments, which could have been diverse in physical and chemical properties. While there are resources that describe prebiotically plausible environments or nutrient availability, here, we attempt to aggregate the literature for the various physicochemical properties of different prebiotic reaction microenvironments on early Earth. We introduce a handful of properties that can be quantified through physical or chemical techniques. The values for these physicochemical properties, if they are known, are then presented for each reaction environment, giving the reader a sense of the environmental variability of such properties. Such a resource may be useful for prebiotic chemists to understand the range of conditions in each reaction environment, or to select the medium most applicable for their targeted reaction of interest for exploratory studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpita Saha
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
- Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University, Kolkata 700135, India
| | - Ruiqin Yi
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Albert C. Fahrenbach
- School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Anna Wang
- School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Correspondence: (A.W.); (T.Z.J.)
| | - Tony Z. Jia
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 600 1st Ave, Floor 1, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Correspondence: (A.W.); (T.Z.J.)
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7
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Arias A, Gómez S, Rojas-Valencia N, Núñez-Zarur F, Cappelli C, Murillo-López JA, Restrepo A. Formation and evolution of C-C, C-O, C[double bond, length as m-dash]O and C-N bonds in chemical reactions of prebiotic interest. RSC Adv 2022; 12:28804-28817. [PMID: 36320504 PMCID: PMC9549586 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra06000k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of prebiotic chemical reactions yielding the precursor building blocks of amino acids, proteins and carbohydrates, starting solely from HCN and water is studied here. We closely follow the formation and evolution of the pivotal C-C, C-O, C[double bond, length as m-dash]O, and C-N bonds, which dictate the chemistry of the molecules of life. In many cases, formation of these bonds is set in motion by proton transfers in which individual water molecules act as catalysts so that water atoms end up in the products. Our results indicate that the prebiotic formation of carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, formic acid, formaldimine, glycolaldehyde, glycine, glycolonitrile, and oxazole derivatives, among others, are best described as highly nonsynchronous concerted single step processes. Nonetheless, for all reactions involving double proton transfer, the formation and breaking of O-H bonds around a particular O atom occur in a synchronous fashion, apparently independently from other primitive processes. For the most part, the first process to initiate seems to be the double proton transfer in the reactions where they are present, then bond breaking/formation around the reactive carbon in the carbonyl group and finally rupture of the C-N bonds in the appropriate cases, which are the most reluctant to break. Remarkably, within the limitations of our non-dynamical computational model, the wide ranges of temperature and pressure in which these reactions occur, downplay the problematic determination of the exact constraints on the early Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Arias
- Instituto de Química, Universidad de Antioquia UdeACalle 70 No. 52-21MedellínColombia
| | - Sara Gómez
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di ScienzePiazza dei Cavalieri 7Pisa56126Italy
| | - Natalia Rojas-Valencia
- Instituto de Química, Universidad de Antioquia UdeACalle 70 No. 52-21MedellínColombia,Escuela de Ciencias y Humanidades, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad EafitMedellínAA 3300Colombia
| | - Francisco Núñez-Zarur
- Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de MedellínCarrera 87 No. 30-65Medellín050026Colombia
| | - Chiara Cappelli
- Scuola Normale Superiore, Classe di ScienzePiazza dei Cavalieri 7Pisa56126Italy
| | - Juliana A. Murillo-López
- Departamento de Ciencias Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Andres BelloAutopista, Concepción-TalcahuanoTalcahuano 7100Chile
| | - Albeiro Restrepo
- Instituto de Química, Universidad de Antioquia UdeACalle 70 No. 52-21MedellínColombia
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8
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Campisi D, Lamberts T, Dzade NY, Martinazzo R, ten Kate IL, Tielens AGG. Adsorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and C 60 onto Forsterite: C-H Bond Activation by the Schottky Vacancy. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2022; 6:2009-2023. [PMID: 36016758 PMCID: PMC9393896 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how to catalytically break the C-H bond of aromatic molecules, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is currently a big challenge and a subject of study in catalysis, astrochemistry, and planetary science. In the latter, the study of the breakdown reaction of PAHs on mineral surfaces is important to understand if PAHs are linked to prebiotic molecules in regions of star and planet formation. In this work, we employed a periodic density functional theory along with Grimme's D4 (DFT-D4) approach for studying the adsorption of a sample of PAHs (naphthalene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, coronene, and benzocoronene) and fullerene on the [010] forsterite surface and its defective surfaces (Fe-doped and Ni-doped surfaces and a MgO-Schottky vacancy) for their implications in catalysis and astrochemistry. On the basis of structural and binding energy analysis, large PAHs and fullerene present stronger adsorption on the pristine, Fe-doped, and Ni-doped forsterite surfaces than small PAHs. On a MgO-Schottky vacancy, parallel adsorption of the PAH leads to the chemisorption process (C-Si and/or C-O bonds), whereas perpendicular orientation of the PAH leads to the catalytic breaking of the aromatic C-H bond via a barrierless reaction. Spin density and charge analysis show that C-H dissociation is promoted by electron donation from the vacancy to the PAH. As a result of the undercoordinated Si and O atoms, the vacancy acts as a Frustrated Lewis Pair (FLP) catalyst. Therefore, a MgO-Schottky vacancy [010] forsterite surface proved to have potential catalytic activity for the activation of C-H bond in aromatic molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Campisi
- Leiden
Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden 2333 CA, The Netherlands
| | - Thanja Lamberts
- Leiden
Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, Leiden 2333 CA, The Netherlands
- Leiden
Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands
| | - Nelson Y. Dzade
- Cardiff
University, Main Building,
Park Place, Cardiff CF10
3AT, U.K.
| | - Rocco Martinazzo
- Department
of Chemistry, Università degli Studi
di Milano, Via Golgi 19, Milan 20133, Italy
| | - Inge Loes ten Kate
- Department
of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht 3584 CB, The Netherlands
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9
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Derbali I, Aroule O, Hoffmann G, Thissen R, Alcaraz C, Romanzin C, Zins EL. On the relevance of the electron density analysis for the study of micro-hydration and its impact on the formation of a peptide-like bond. Theor Chem Acc 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00214-022-02893-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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10
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Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084252. [PMID: 35457069 PMCID: PMC9030215 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycine (Gly), NH2CH2COOH, is the simplest amino acid. Although it has not been directly detected in the interstellar gas-phase medium, it has been identified in comets and meteorites, and its synthesis in these environments has been simulated in terrestrial laboratory experiments. Likewise, condensation of Gly to form peptides in scenarios resembling those present in a primordial Earth has been demonstrated experimentally. Thus, Gly is a paradigmatic system for biomolecular building blocks to investigate how they can be synthesized in astrophysical environments, transported and delivered by fragments of asteroids (meteorites, once they land on Earth) and comets (interplanetary dust particles that land on Earth) to the primitive Earth, and there react to form biopolymers as a step towards the emergence of life. Quantum chemical investigations addressing these Gly-related events have been performed, providing fundamental atomic-scale information and quantitative energetic data. However, they are spread in the literature and difficult to harmonize in a consistent way due to different computational chemistry methodologies and model systems. This review aims to collect the work done so far to characterize, at a quantum mechanical level, the chemical life of Gly, i.e., from its synthesis in the interstellar medium up to its polymerization on Earth.
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11
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Brigiano FS, Gierada M, Tielens F, Pietrucci F. Mechanism and Free-Energy Landscape of Peptide Bond Formation at the Silica–Water Interface. ACS Catal 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c05635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Flavio Siro Brigiano
- General Chemistry (ALGC), Materials Modeling Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel, Belgium
| | - Maciej Gierada
- General Chemistry (ALGC), Materials Modeling Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel, Belgium
- Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Poland
| | - Frederik Tielens
- General Chemistry (ALGC), Materials Modeling Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussel, Belgium
| | - Fabio Pietrucci
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR CNRS 7590, IRD, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, IMPMC, F-75005 Paris, France
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12
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Kouznetsov VV, Hernández JG. Nanostructured silicate catalysts for environmentally benign Strecker-type reactions: status quo and quo vadis. RSC Adv 2022; 12:20807-20828. [PMID: 35919186 PMCID: PMC9299969 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra03102g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemical processes are usually catalytic transformations. The use of catalytic reagents can reduce the reaction temperature, decrease reagent-based waste, and enhance the selectivity of a reaction potentially avoiding unwanted side reactions leading to green technology. Chemical processes are also frequently based on multicomponent reactions (MCRs) that possess evident improvements over multistep processes. Both MCRs and catalysis tools are the most valuable principles of green chemistry. Among diverse MCRs, the three-component Strecker reaction (S-3-CR) is a particular transformation conducive to the formation of valuable bifunctional building blocks (α-amino nitriles) in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, drug research, and organic materials science. To be a practical synthetic tool, the S-3-CR must be achieved using alternative energy input systems, safe reaction media, and effective catalysts. These latter reagents are now deeply associated with nanoscience and nanocatalysis. Continuously developed, nanostructured silicate catalysts symbolize green pathways in our quest to attain sustainability. Studying and developing nanocatalyzed S-3-CR condensations as an important model will be suitable for achieving the current green mission. This critical review aims to highlight the advances in the development of nanostructured catalysts for technologically important Strecker-type reactions and to analyze this progress from the viewpoint of green and sustainable chemistry. The innovations in the development of nanostructured silicate catalysts for Strecker reactions are analyzed discussing the advantages and drawbacks of existing protocols based on the use of nanocatalytic systems for α-amino nitrile formation.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir V. Kouznetsov
- Laboratorio de Química Orgánica y Biomolecular, CMN, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Parque Tecnológico Guatiguará, Km 2 Vía Refugio, Piedecuesta 681011, Colombia
| | - José G. Hernández
- Grupo Ciencia de los Materiales, Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia
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13
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Computational Analysis of a Prebiotic Amino Acid Synthesis with Reference to Extant Codon-Amino Acid Relationships. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11121343. [PMID: 34947874 PMCID: PMC8707928 DOI: 10.3390/life11121343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel density functional theory calculations are presented regarding a mechanism for prebiotic amino acid synthesis from alpha-keto acids that was suggested to happen via catalysis by dinucleotide species. Our results were analysed with comparison to the original hypothesis (Copley et al., PNAS, 2005, 102, 4442–4447). It was shown that the keto acid–dinucleotide hypothesis for possible prebiotic amino acid synthesis was plausible based on an initial computational analysis, and details of the structures for the intermediates and transition states showed that there was wide scope for interactions between the keto acid and dinucleotide moieties that could affect the free energy profiles and lead to the required proto-metabolic selectivity.
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14
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Derbali I, Thissen R, Alcaraz C, Romanzin C, Zins EL. Study of the Reactivity of CH 3COOH +• and COOH + Ions with CH 3NH 2: Evidence of the Formation of New Peptide-like C(O)-N Bonds. J Phys Chem A 2021; 125:10006-10020. [PMID: 34761946 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c06630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Acetamide, a small organic compound containing a peptide bond, was observed in the interstellar medium, but reaction pathways leading to the formation of this prebiotic molecule remain uncertain. We investigated the possible formation of a peptide-like bond from the reaction between acetic acid (CH3-COOH) and methylamine (CH3-NH2) that were identified in the interstellar medium. From an experimental point of view, a quadrupole/octopole/quadrupole mass spectrometer was used in combination with synchrotron radiation as a tunable source of VUV photons for monitoring the reactivity of selected ions. Acetic acid was photoionized, and the reactivity of CH3COOH+• as well as COOH+ (produced from either acetic acid or formic acid) ions with neutral CH3NH2 was further studied. With no surprise, charge transfer, proton transfer, and concomitant dissociation processes were found to largely dominate the reactivity. However, a C(O)-N bond formation process between the two reactants was also evidenced, with a weak cross section reaction. From a theoretical point of view, results concerning reactivity and barrier heights were obtained using density functional theory, with the LC-ωPBE range-separated functional in combination with the 6-311++G(d,p) Pople basis set and are in perfect agreement with the experimental data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imene Derbali
- De la Molécule aux Nano-Objets: Réactivité, Interactions Spectroscopies, MONARIS, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Roland Thissen
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Bât. 350, 91405 Orsay, France.,SOLEIL Synchrotron, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Christian Alcaraz
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Bât. 350, 91405 Orsay, France.,SOLEIL Synchrotron, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Claire Romanzin
- Institut de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Bât. 350, 91405 Orsay, France.,SOLEIL Synchrotron, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Emilie-Laure Zins
- De la Molécule aux Nano-Objets: Réactivité, Interactions Spectroscopies, MONARIS, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
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15
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Pantaleone S, Rimola A, Ugliengo P, Sodupe M. First-Principles Modeling of Protein/Surface Interactions. Polyglycine Secondary Structure Adsorption on the TiO 2 (101) Anatase Surface Adopting a Full Periodic Approach. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:5484-5498. [PMID: 34752107 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Computational modeling of protein/surface systems is challenging since the conformational variations of the protein and its interactions with the surface need to be considered at once. Adoption of first-principles methods to this purpose is overwhelming and computationally extremely expensive so that, in many cases, dramatically simplified systems (e.g., small peptides or amino acids) are used at the expenses of modeling nonrealistic systems. In this work, we propose a cost-effective strategy for the modeling of peptide/surface interactions at a full quantum mechanical level, taking the adsorption of polyglycine on the TiO2 (101) anatase surface as a test case. Our approach is based on applying the periodic boundary conditions for both the surface model and the polyglycine peptide, giving rise to full periodic polyglycine/TiO2 surface systems. By proceeding this way, the considered complexes are modeled with a drastically reduced number of atoms compared with the finite-analogous systems, modeling the polypeptide structures at the same time in a realistic way. Within our modeling approach, full periodic density functional theory calculations (including implicit solvation effects) and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations at the PBE-D2* theory level have been carried out to investigate the adsorption and relative stability of the different polyglycine structures (i.e., extended primary, β-sheet, and α-helix) on the TiO2 surface. It has been found that, upon adsorption, secondary structures become partially denatured because the peptide C═O groups form Ti-O═C dative bonds. AIMD simulations have been fundamental to identify these phenomena because thermal and entropic effects are of paramount importance. Irrespective of the simulated environments (gas phase and implicit solvent), adsorption of the α-helix is more favorable than that of the β-sheet because in the former, more Ti-O═C bonds are formed and the adsorbed secondary structure results less distorted with respect to the isolated state. Under the implicit water solvent, additionally, adsorbed β-sheet structures weaken with respect to their isolated states as the H-bonds between the strands are longer due to solvation effects. Accordingly, the results indicate that the preferred conformation upon adsorption is the α-helix over the β-sheet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Pantaleone
- Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Catalonia, Spain.,Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Inter-Departmental Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, Torino 10125, Italy.,Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, Perugia I-06123, Italy
| | - Albert Rimola
- Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Piero Ugliengo
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Inter-Departmental Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, Torino 10125, Italy
| | - Mariona Sodupe
- Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Catalonia, Spain
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16
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Wang W, Qiao L, He J, Ju Y, Yu K, Kan G, Guo C, Zhang H, Jiang J. Water Microdroplets Allow Spontaneously Abiotic Production of Peptides. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:5774-5780. [PMID: 34134488 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The chemistry of abiotic synthesis of peptides in the context of their prebiotic origins is a continuing challenge that arises from thermodynamic and kinetic constraints in aqueous media. Here we reported a strategy of microdroplets' mass spectrometry for peptide bonds formed from pure amino acids or a mixture in the presence of phosphoric acids in aqueous microdroplets. In contrast to bulk experiments, the condensation reactions proceed spontaneously under ambient conditions. The microdroplet gave a negative free-energy change (ΔG ∼ -1.1 kcal/mol), and product yields of ∼75% were obtained at the scale of a few milliseconds. Experiments in which nebulization gas pressure and external charge were varied established dependence of peptide production on the droplet size that has a high surface-to-volume ratio. It is concluded that the condensation reactions occurred at or near the air-water interfaces of microdroplets. This aqueous microdroplets approach also provides a route for chemistry synthesis in the prebiotic era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenxin Wang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
| | - Lina Qiao
- Marine College, Shandong University (Weihai), Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
| | - Jing He
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
| | - Yun Ju
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
| | - Kai Yu
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
| | - Guangfeng Kan
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
| | - Changlu Guo
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
| | - Jie Jiang
- School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong 264209, China
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150090, China
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17
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de Azambuja F, Loosen A, Conic D, van den Besselaar M, Harvey JN, Parac-Vogt TN. En Route to a Heterogeneous Catalytic Direct Peptide Bond Formation by Zr-Based Metal–Organic Framework Catalysts. ACS Catal 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c01782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandra Loosen
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dragan Conic
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Jeremy N. Harvey
- Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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18
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Wang R, Klein ML, Carnevale V, Borguet E. Investigations of water/oxide interfaces by molecular dynamics simulations. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ruiyu Wang
- Department of Chemistry Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- Center for Complex Materials from First Principles (CCM) Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
| | - Michael L. Klein
- Department of Chemistry Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- Center for Complex Materials from First Principles (CCM) Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- Institute for Computational Molecular Science, Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
| | - Vincenzo Carnevale
- Institute for Computational Molecular Science, Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Biology Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
| | - Eric Borguet
- Department of Chemistry Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
- Center for Complex Materials from First Principles (CCM) Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
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19
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Achour S, Hosni Z, Darghouthi S, Syme C. Assisted dipeptide bond formation: glycine as a case study. Heliyon 2021; 7:e07276. [PMID: 34195408 PMCID: PMC8225972 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptide bond formation is a crucial chemical process that dominates most biological mechanisms and is claimed to be a governing factor in the origin of life. Dipeptides made from glycine are studied computationally via Density Functional Theory (DFT) using two different basis sets. This reaction was investigated from both a thermodynamic and kinetic point of view. The effect of explicit assistance via the introduction of discrete solvent molecules was investigated. Water, methanol, and cyclohexane were all employed as solvent media in addition to gas to investigate their effects on the mechanism of peptide bond formation. This computational investigation revealed that methanol is slightly better than water to leverage peptide bond formation both kinetically and thermodynamically, while cyclohexane, a non-polar and non-protic solvent, is the least effective after gas as a medium of solvation. Energetic results in the gas environment are very close to those obtained in polar and protic solvents, suggesting that peptide bonds can be formed under interstellar conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofiene Achour
- University of Tunis El Manar, Research Unity of Modeling in Fundamental Sciences and Didactics, Team of Theoretical Chemistry and Reactivity, BP 254, El Manar 2, 2096, Tunisia
| | - Zied Hosni
- Sheffield Chemoinformatics Research Group, Information School, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 211 Portobello, S1 4DP, Sheffield, UK
| | - Sarra Darghouthi
- University of Tunis El Manar, Research Unity of Modeling in Fundamental Sciences and Didactics, Team of Theoretical Chemistry and Reactivity, BP 254, El Manar 2, 2096, Tunisia
| | - Christopher Syme
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Sir Michael Stoker Building, Garscube Campus, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, Scotland, UK
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20
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Cassone G, Saija F. Interstellar chemical reactions toward the synthesis of the life's building blocks: Comment on "Insoluble organic matter in chondrites: Archetypal melanin-like PAH-based multifunctionality at the origin of life?" by M. d'Ischia et al. Phys Life Rev 2021; 38:140-142. [PMID: 34049816 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2021.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Cassone
- CNR - Institute for Chemical-Physical Processes (IPCF), Viale Ferdinando Stagno d'Alcontres 37, I-98158 Messina, Italy
| | - Franz Saija
- CNR - Institute for Chemical-Physical Processes (IPCF), Viale Ferdinando Stagno d'Alcontres 37, I-98158 Messina, Italy.
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21
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Campisi D, Lamberts T, Dzade NY, Martinazzo R, ten Kate IL, Tielens AGGM. Interaction of Aromatic Molecules with Forsterite: Accuracy of the Periodic DFT-D4 Method. J Phys Chem A 2021; 125:2770-2781. [PMID: 33784098 PMCID: PMC8154625 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.1c02326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Density functional theory (DFT) has provided deep atomic-level insights into the adsorption behavior of aromatic molecules on solid surfaces. However, modeling the surface phenomena of large molecules on mineral surfaces with accurate plane wave methods (PW) can be orders of magnitude more computationally expensive than localized atomic orbitals (LCAO) methods. In the present work, we propose a less costly approach based on the DFT-D4 method (PBE-D4), using LCAO, to study the interactions of aromatic molecules with the {010} forsterite (Mg2SiO4) surface for their relevance in astrochemistry. We studied the interaction of benzene with the pristine {010} forsterite surface and with transition-metal cations (Fe2+ and Ni2+) using PBE-D4 and a vdW-inclusive density functional (Dion, Rydberg, Schröder, Langreth, and Lundqvist (DRSLL)) with LCAO methods. PBE-D4 shows good agreement with coupled-cluster methods (CCSD(T)) for the binding energy trend of cation complexes and with PW methods for the binding energy of benzene on the forsterite surface with a difference of about 0.03 eV. The basis set superposition error (BSSE) correction is shown to be essential to ensure a correct estimation of the binding energies even when large basis sets are employed for single-point calculations of the optimized structures with smaller basis sets. We also studied the interaction of naphthalene and benzocoronene on pristine and transition-metal-doped {010} forsterite surfaces as a test case for PBE-D4. Yielding results that are in good agreement with the plane wave methods with a difference of about 0.02-0.17 eV, the PBE-D4 method is demonstrated to be effective in unraveling the binding structures and the energetic trends of aromatic molecules on pristine and transition-metal-doped forsterite mineral surfaces. Furthermore, PBE-D4 results are in good agreement with its predecessor PBE-D3(BJM) and with the vdW-inclusive density functionals, as long as transition metals are not involved. Hence, PBE-D4/CP-DZP has been proven to be a robust theory level to study the interaction of aromatic molecules on mineral surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Campisi
- Leiden
Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thanja Lamberts
- Leiden
Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden
Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2300
RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nelson Y. Dzade
- Cardiff
University, Main Building, Park Place, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U.K.
| | - Rocco Martinazzo
- Department
of Chemistry, Universitá degli Studi
di Milano, Via Golgi 19, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Inge Loes ten Kate
- Department
of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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22
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Madrigal-Trejo D, Villanueva-Barragán PS, Zamudio-Ramírez R, Cervantes-de la Cruz KE, Mejía-Luna I, Chacón-Baca E, Negrón-Mendoza A, Ramos-Bernal S, Heredia-Barbero A. Histidine Self-assembly and Stability on Mineral Surfaces as a Model of Prebiotic Chemical Evolution: An Experimental and Computational Approach. ORIGINS LIFE EVOL B 2021; 51:117-130. [PMID: 33788055 DOI: 10.1007/s11084-021-09606-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The abiotic synthesis of histidine under experimental prebiotic conditions has proven to be chemically promising and plausible. Within this context, the present results suggest that histidine amino acid may function as a simple prebiotic catalyst able to enhance amino acid polymerization. This work describes an experimental and computational approach to the self-assembly and stabilization of DL-histidine on mineral surfaces using antigorite ((Mg, Fe)3Si2O5(OH)4), pyrite (FeS2), and aragonite (CaCO3) as representative minerals of prebiotic scenarios, such as meteorites, and subaerial and submarine hydrothermal systems. Experimental results were obtained through polarized-light microscopy, IR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Molecular dynamics was performed through computational simulations with the MM + method in HyperChem software. IR spectra suggest the presence of peptide bonds in the antigorite-histidine and aragonite-histidine assemblages with the presence of amide I and amide II vibration bands. The FTIR second derivative inspection supports this observation. Moreover, DSC data shows histidine stabilization in the presence of antigorite and aragonite by changes in histidine thermodynamic properties, particularly an increase in histidine decomposition temperature (272ºC in antigorite and 275ºC in aragonite). Results from molecular dynamics are consistent with DSC data, suggesting an antigorite-histidine closer interaction with decreased molecular distances (cca. 5.5 Å) between the amino acid and the crystal surface. On the whole, the experimental and computational outcomes support the role of mineral surfaces in prebiotic chemical evolution as enhancers of organic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Madrigal-Trejo
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física, UNAM, Apdo. Postal 70-407, C.P. 04510 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México.,Laboratorio de Evolución Química, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - P S Villanueva-Barragán
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física, UNAM, Apdo. Postal 70-407, C.P. 04510 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México.,Laboratorio de Evolución Química, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - R Zamudio-Ramírez
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física, UNAM, Apdo. Postal 70-407, C.P. 04510 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México.,Laboratorio de Evolución Química, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - K E Cervantes-de la Cruz
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física, UNAM, Apdo. Postal 70-407, C.P. 04510 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México.,Departamento de Física de Plasmas e Interacción de Radiación con Materia, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - I Mejía-Luna
- Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física, UNAM, Apdo. Postal 70-407, C.P. 04510 Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México
| | - E Chacón-Baca
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra, Exhacienda de Guadalupe, Carretera a Cerro Prieto km 8, Linares, Nuevo León, C.P. 67700, México
| | - A Negrón-Mendoza
- Laboratorio de Evolución Química, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - S Ramos-Bernal
- Departamento de Física de Plasmas e Interacción de Radiación con Materia, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - A Heredia-Barbero
- Laboratorio de Evolución Química, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México.
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23
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Fontecilla-Camps JC. Primordial bioenergy sources: The two facets of adenosine triphosphate. J Inorg Biochem 2020; 216:111347. [PMID: 33450675 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2020.111347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Life requires energy to exist, to reproduce and to survive. Two major hypotheses have been put forward concerning the source of this energy at the very early stages of life evolution: (i) abiotic organics either brought to Earth by comets and/or meteorites, or produced at its atmosphere, and (ii) mineral surface-dependent bioinorganic catalytic reactions. Considering the latter possibility, I propose that, besides being a precursor of nucleic acids, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which probably was used very early to improve the fidelity of nucleic acid polymerization, played an essential role in the transition between mineral-bound protocells and their free counterparts. Indeed, phosphorylation by ATP renders carboxylate groups electrophilic enough to react with nucleophiles such as amines, an effect that, thanks to their Lewis acid character, also have dehydrated metal ions on mineral surfaces. Early ATP synthesis for metabolic processes most likely depended on substrate level phosphorylation. However, the exaptation of a hexameric helicase-like ATPase and a transmembrane H+ pump (which evolved to counteract the acidity caused by fermentation reactions within the protocell) generated a much more efficient membrane-bound ATP synthase that uses chemiosmosis to make ATP.
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24
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Kruse FM, Teichert JS, Trapp O. Prebiotic Nucleoside Synthesis: The Selectivity of Simplicity. Chemistry 2020; 26:14776-14790. [PMID: 32428355 PMCID: PMC7756251 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202001513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Ever since the discovery of nucleic acids 150 years ago,[1] major achievements have been made in understanding and decrypting the fascinating scientific questions of the genetic code.[2] However, the most fundamental question about the origin and the evolution of the genetic code remains a mystery. How did nature manage to build up such intriguingly complex molecules able to encode structure and function from simple building blocks? What conditions were required? How could the precursors survive the unhostile environment of early Earth? Over the past decades, promising synthetic concepts were proposed providing clarity in the field of prebiotic nucleic acid research. In this Minireview, we show the current status and various approaches to answer these fascinating questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian M. Kruse
- Department of ChemistryLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichButenandtstr. 5–13'81377MunichGermany
| | - Jennifer S. Teichert
- Department of ChemistryLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichButenandtstr. 5–13'81377MunichGermany
- Max-Planck-Institute for AstronomyKönigstuhl 1769117HeidelbergGermany
| | - Oliver Trapp
- Department of ChemistryLudwig-Maximilians-University MunichButenandtstr. 5–13'81377MunichGermany
- Max-Planck-Institute for AstronomyKönigstuhl 1769117HeidelbergGermany
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25
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Russell MJ, Ponce A. Six 'Must-Have' Minerals for Life's Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:E291. [PMID: 33228029 PMCID: PMC7699418 DOI: 10.3390/life10110291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Life cannot emerge on a planet or moon without the appropriate electrochemical disequilibria and the minerals that mediate energy-dissipative processes. Here, it is argued that four minerals, olivine ([Mg>Fe]2SiO4), bridgmanite ([Mg,Fe]SiO3), serpentine ([Mg,Fe,]2-3Si2O5[OH)]4), and pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S), are an essential requirement in planetary bodies to produce such disequilibria and, thereby, life. Yet only two minerals, fougerite ([Fe2+6xFe3+6(x-1)O12H2(7-3x)]2+·[(CO2-)·3H2O]2-) and mackinawite (Fe[Ni]S), are vital-comprising precipitate membranes-as initial "free energy" conductors and converters of such disequilibria, i.e., as the initiators of a CO2-reducing metabolism. The fact that wet and rocky bodies in the solar system much smaller than Earth or Venus do not reach the internal pressure (≥23 GPa) requirements in their mantles sufficient for producing bridgmanite and, therefore, are too reduced to stabilize and emit CO2-the staple of life-may explain the apparent absence or negligible concentrations of that gas on these bodies, and thereby serves as a constraint in the search for extraterrestrial life. The astrobiological challenge then is to search for worlds that (i) are large enough to generate internal pressures such as to produce bridgmanite or (ii) boast electron acceptors, including imported CO2, from extraterrestrial sources in their hydrospheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Russell
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Adrian Ponce
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA;
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Fan J, Kotov NA. Chiral Nanoceramics. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2020; 32:e1906738. [PMID: 32500963 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201906738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The study of different chiral inorganic nanomaterials has been experiencing rapid growth during the past decade, with its primary focus on metals and semiconductors. Ceramic materials can substantially expand the range of mechanical, optical, chemical, electrical, magnetic, and biological properties of chiral nanostructures, further stimulating theoretical, synthetic, and applied research in this area. An ever-expanding toolbox of nanoscale engineering and self-organization provides a chirality-based methodology for engineering of hierarchically organized ceramic materials. However, fundamental discoveries and technological translations of chiral nanoceramics have received substantially smaller attention than counterparts from metals and semiconductors. Findings in this research area are scattered over a variety of sources and subfields. Here, the diversity of chemistries, geometries, and properties found in chiral ceramic nanostructures are summarized. They represent a compelling materials platform for realization of chirality transfer through multiple scales that can result in new forms of ceramic materials. Multiscale chiral geometries and the structural versatility of nanoceramics are complemented by their high chiroptical activity, enantioselectivity, catalytic activity, and biocompatibility. Future development in this field is likely to encompass chiral synthesis, biomedical applications, and optical/electronic devices. The implementation of computationally designed chiral nanoceramics for biomimetic catalysts and quantum information devices may also be expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinchen Fan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 200090, China
| | - Nicholas A Kotov
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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Microbial Interaction with Clay Minerals and Its Environmental and Biotechnological Implications. MINERALS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/min10100861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Clay minerals are very common in nature and highly reactive minerals which are typical products of the weathering of the most abundant silicate minerals on the planet. Over recent decades there has been growing appreciation that the prime involvement of clay minerals in the geochemical cycling of elements and pedosphere genesis should take into account the biogeochemical activity of microorganisms. Microbial intimate interaction with clay minerals, that has taken place on Earth’s surface in a geological time-scale, represents a complex co-evolving system which is challenging to comprehend because of fragmented information and requires coordinated efforts from both clay scientists and microbiologists. This review covers some important aspects of the interactions of clay minerals with microorganisms at the different levels of complexity, starting from organic molecules, individual and aggregated microbial cells, fungal and bacterial symbioses with photosynthetic organisms, pedosphere, up to environmental and biotechnological implications. The review attempts to systematize our current general understanding of the processes of biogeochemical transformation of clay minerals by microorganisms. This paper also highlights some microbiological and biotechnological perspectives of the practical application of clay minerals–microbes interactions not only in microbial bioremediation and biodegradation of pollutants but also in areas related to agronomy and human and animal health.
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Abstract
Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs) are a relevant class of inorganic lamellar nanomaterials that have attracted significant interest in life science-related applications, due to their highly controllable synthesis and high biocompatibility. Under a general point of view, this class of materials might have played an important role for the origin of life on planet Earth, given their ability to adsorb and concentrate life-relevant molecules in sea environments. It has been speculated that the organic–mineral interactions could have permitted to organize the adsorbed molecules, leading to an increase in their local concentration and finally to the emergence of life. Inspired by nature, material scientists, engineers and chemists have started to leverage the ability of LDHs to absorb and concentrate molecules and biomolecules within life-like compartments, allowing to realize highly-efficient bioinspired platforms, usable for bioanalysis, therapeutics, sensors and bioremediation. This review aims at summarizing the latest evolution of LDHs in this research field under an unprecedented perspective, finally providing possible challenges and directions for future research.
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Signorile M, Pantaleone S, Balucani N, Bonino F, Martra G, Ugliengo P. Monitoring the Reactivity of Formamide on Amorphous SiO 2 by In-Situ UV-Raman Spectroscopy and DFT Modeling. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25102274. [PMID: 32408593 PMCID: PMC7287731 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25102274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Formamide has been recognized in the literature as a key species in the formation of the complex molecules of life, such as nucleobases. Furthermore, several studies reported the impact of mineral phases as catalysts for its decomposition/polymerization processes, increasing the conversion and also favoring the formation of specific products. Despite the progresses in the field, in situ studies on these mineral-catalyzed processes are missing. In this work, we present an in situ UV-Raman characterization of the chemical evolution of formamide over amorphous SiO2 samples, selected as a prototype of silicate minerals. The experiments were carried out after reaction of formamide at 160 °C on amorphous SiO2 (Aerosil OX50) either pristine or pre-calcined at 450 °C, to remove a large fraction of surface silanol groups. Our measurements, interpreted on the basis of density functional B3LYP-D3 calculations, allow to assign the spectra bands in terms of specific complex organic molecules, namely, diaminomaleonitrile (DAMN), 5-aminoimidazole (AI), and purine, showing the role of the mineral surface on the formation of relevant prebiotic molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Signorile
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125 Torino, Italy; (M.S.); (S.P.); (F.B.); (G.M.)
| | - Stefano Pantaleone
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125 Torino, Italy; (M.S.); (S.P.); (F.B.); (G.M.)
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, I-06123 Perugia, Italy;
| | - Nadia Balucani
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, I-06123 Perugia, Italy;
| | - Francesca Bonino
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125 Torino, Italy; (M.S.); (S.P.); (F.B.); (G.M.)
| | - Gianmario Martra
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125 Torino, Italy; (M.S.); (S.P.); (F.B.); (G.M.)
| | - Piero Ugliengo
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125 Torino, Italy; (M.S.); (S.P.); (F.B.); (G.M.)
- Correspondence:
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Pantaleone S, Salvini C, Zamirri L, Signorile M, Bonino F, Ugliengo P. A quantum mechanical study of dehydration vs. decarbonylation of formamide catalysed by amorphous silica surfaces. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:8353-8363. [PMID: 32266913 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp00572j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Formamide is abundant in the interstellar medium and was also present during the formation of the Solar system through the accretion process of interstellar dust. Under the physicochemical conditions of primordial Earth, formamide could have undergone decomposition, either via dehydration (HCN + H2O) or via decarbonylation (CO + NH3). The first reactive channel provides HCN, which is an essential molecular building block for the formation of RNA/DNA bases, crucial for the emergence of life on Earth. In this work, we studied, at the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ level, the two competitive routes of formamide decomposition, i.e. dehydration and decarbonylation, either in liquid formamide (by using the polarization continuum model technique) or at the interface between liquid formamide and amorphous silica. Amorphous silica was adopted as a convenient model of the crystalline silica phases ubiquitously present in the primordial (and actual) Earth's crust, and also due to its relevance in catalysis, adsorption and chromatography. Results show that: (i) silica surface sites catalyse both decomposition channels by reducing the activation barriers by about 100 kJ mol-1 with respect to the reactions in homogeneous medium, and (ii) the dehydration channel, giving rise to HCN, is strongly favoured from a kinetic standpoint over decarbonylation, the latter being, instead, slightly favoured from a thermodynamic point of view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Pantaleone
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), 38000 Grenoble, France.
| | - Clara Salvini
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125, Torino, Italy.
| | - Lorenzo Zamirri
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125, Torino, Italy.
| | - Matteo Signorile
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125, Torino, Italy.
| | - Francesca Bonino
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125, Torino, Italy.
| | - Piero Ugliengo
- Dipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, IT-10125, Torino, Italy.
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Lin R, Wang Y, Li X, Liu Y, Zhao Y. pH-Dependent Adsorption of Peptides on Montmorillonite for Resisting UV Irradiation. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10040045. [PMID: 32325947 PMCID: PMC7235719 DOI: 10.3390/life10040045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is considered an energy source for the prebiotic chemical synthesis of life's building blocks. However, it also results in photodegradation of biology-related organic compounds on early Earth. Thus, it is important to find a process to protect these compounds from decomposition by UV irradiation. Herein, pH effects on both the adsorption of peptides on montmorillonite (MMT) and the abilities of peptides to resist UV irradiation due to this adsorption were systematically studied. We found that montmorillonite (MMT) can adsorb peptides effectively under acidic conditions, while MMT-adsorbed peptides can be released under basic conditions. Peptide adsorption is positively correlated with the length of the peptide chains. MMT's adsorption of peptides and MMT-adsorbed peptide desorption are both rapid-equilibrium, and it takes less than 30 min to reach the equilibrium in both cases. Furthermore, compared to free peptides, MMT-adsorbed peptides under acidic conditions are well protected from UV degradation even after prolonged irradiation. These results indicate amino acid/peptides are able to concentrate from aqueous solution by MMT adsorption under low-pH conditions (concentration step). The MMT-adsorbed peptides survive under UV irradiation among other unprotected species (storage step). Then, the MMT-adsorbed peptides can be released to the aqueous solution if the environment becomes more basic (releasing step), and these free peptides are ready for polymerization to polypeptides. Hence, a plausible prebiotic concentration-storage-release cycle of amino acids/peptides for further polypeptide synthesis is established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongcan Lin
- Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; (R.L.); (Y.W.); (X.L.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yueqiao Wang
- Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; (R.L.); (Y.W.); (X.L.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Xin Li
- Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; (R.L.); (Y.W.); (X.L.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yan Liu
- Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; (R.L.); (Y.W.); (X.L.); (Y.Z.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Yufen Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; (R.L.); (Y.W.); (X.L.); (Y.Z.)
- Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Recent Results on Computational Molecular Modeling of The Origins of Life. FOUNDATIONS OF COMPUTING AND DECISION SCIENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.2478/fcds-2020-0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In the last decade of research in the origins of life, there has been an increase in the interest on theoretical molecular modeling methods aimed to improve the accuracy and speed of the algorithms that solve the molecular mechanics and chemical reactions of the matter. Research on the scenarios of prebiotic chemistry has also advanced. The presented work attempts to discuss the latest computational techniques and trends implemented so far. Although it is difficult to cover the full extent of the current publications, we tried to orient the reader into the modern tendencies and challenges faced by those who are in the origins of life field.
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Abstract
Books with titles like 'The Call of the Wild' seemed to set a path for a life. Thus, I would be an explorer-a plan that did not work out so well, at least at first. On leaving school I got a job as a 'Works Chemist Improver', testing Ni catalysts for the hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanol. Taking night classes I passed enough exams to study geology at Queen Mary College, London. Armed thus I travelled to the Solomon Islands where geology is a 'happening'! Next was Canada to visit a mine sunk into a 1.5 billion year old Pb-Zn orebody precipitated from submarine hot springs. At last I reached the Yukon to prospect for silver. Thence to Ireland researching what I also took to be 'exhalative' (i.e. hot spring-related) Pb-Zn orebodies. While there in 1979, the discovery of 350°C metal-bearing acidic waters issuing from submarine Black Smoker chimneys in the Pacific sent us searching for fossil examples in the Irish mines. However, the chimneys we found were more like chemical gardens than Black Smokers, a finding that made us think about the emergence of life. After all, what better for life's emergence than to have a membrane comprising Fe minerals dosed with Ni in our chimneys to mediate the 'hydrogenation' of CO2-life's job anyway. Indeed, such a membrane would keep redox and pH disequilibria at bay, just like biological membranes. At the same time, my field research among Alpine ophiolites-ocean floor mafic rocks obducted to the Alps-indicated that alkaline waters bearing H2 and CH4 were a result of serpentinization, a process that must have operated in all ocean floors over all time. Thus it was that we could predict the Lost City hydrothermal field 10 years before its discovery in the North Atlantic in the year 2000. Lost City comprises a number of alkaline springs at up to 90°C that produce carbonate and brucite (Mg[OH]2) chimneys. We had surmised that Ni-enriched FeS chimneys would have precipitated at comparable alkaline springs issuing into a metal-rich carbonic ocean on the very early Earth (inducing membrane potentials comparable to those capable of succouring all life, and presumably, sufficient to drive life into being). However, our laboratory precipitates also revealed green rust, thought to be the precursor to the magnetite now comprising the Archaean Banded Iron Formations. We now look upon green rust, also known as fougèrite, as the tangible, base fractal of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Russell
- NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- http://bip.cnrs-mrs.fr/bip09/AHVics.html
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Martínez-Bachs B, Rimola A. Prebiotic Peptide Bond Formation Through Amino Acid Phosphorylation. Insights from Quantum Chemical Simulations. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:life9030075. [PMID: 31527465 PMCID: PMC6789625 DOI: 10.3390/life9030075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 09/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Condensation reactions between biomolecular building blocks are the main synthetic channels to build biopolymers. However, under highly diluted prebiotic conditions, condensations are thermodynamically hampered since they release water. Moreover, these reactions are also kinetically hindered as, in the absence of any catalyst, they present high activation energies. In living organisms, in the formation of peptides by condensation of amino acids, this issue is overcome by the participation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), in which, previous to the condensation, phosphorylation of one of the reactants is carried out to convert it as an activated intermediate. In this work, we present for the first time results based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the peptide bond formation between two glycine (Gly) molecules adopting this phosphorylation-based mechanism considering a prebiotic context. Here, ATP has been modeled by a triphosphate (TP) component, and different scenarios have been considered: (i) gas-phase conditions, (ii) in the presence of a Mg2+ ion available within the layer of clays, and (iii) in the presence of a Mg2+ ion in watery environments. For all of them, the free energy profiles have been fully characterized. Energetics derived from the quantum chemical calculations indicate that none of the processes seem to be feasible in the prebiotic context. In scenarios (i) and (ii), the reactions are inhibited due to unfavorable thermodynamics associated with the formation of high energy intermediates, while in scenario (iii), the reaction is inhibited due to the high free energy barrier associated with the condensation reactions. As a final consideration, the role of clays in this TP-mediated peptide bond formation route is advocated, since the interaction of the phosphorylated intermediate with the internal clay surfaces could well favor the reaction free energies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berta Martínez-Bachs
- Department de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Albert Rimola
- Department de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
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