A New Route for the Prebiotic Synthesis of Nucleobases and Hydantoins in Water/Ice Solutions Involving the Photochemistry of Acetylene

Menor‐Salván, César; Marín-Yaseli, Margarita R.

doi:10.1002/chem.201204313

Cited by 66 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 77 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The green arrows show a plausible prebiotic pathway, experimentally proven by Butch et al., which provides a feedstock for entry into rTCAC. The violet arrows indicate the relationship proposed by Menor‐Salván and Marín‐Yaseli . The orange arrows show the pathway proposed by Guzman and Martin to enter rTCAC based on the catalytic properties of ZnS surfaces .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Role of Aqueous Aerosols in the “Glyoxylate Scenario”: An Experimental Approach

Marín-Yaseli

González-Toril

Mompeán

et al. 2016

Chemistry A European J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The origin of life is one of the fundamental questions in science. Eschenmoser proposed the "glyoxylate scenario", in which plausible abiotic synthesis pathways were suggested to be compatible with the constraints of prebiotic chemistry. In this proposal, the stem compound is HCN. In this work, we explore the "glyoxylate scenario" through several syntheses of HCN polymers, paying particular attention to the role of the aqueous aerosols, together with statistical methods, as a step to elucidate the synthetic problem of the origin of life. The soluble and insoluble HCN polymers synthetized were analyzed by GC-MS. We identified, for the first time, glyoxylic acid in these polymers, together with some constituents of the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acids and several N-heterocycles. The findings presented herein, as the first global approach to the "glyoxylate scenario", give full effect to this hypothesis and prove that aqueous aerosols could play an important role in this plausible scene of the origin of life.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Role of Aqueous Aerosols in the “Glyoxylate Scenario”: An Experimental Approach

Marín-Yaseli

González-Toril

Mompeán

et al. 2016

Chemistry A European J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[12] Notwithstanding the central role of 1,i ts formation in interstellar environments has remained elusive.Its structure is C s symmetric and displays two conformers:( E,Z)a nd the thermodynamically preferred (E,E)c onformation. [14] Recently, 1 was identified in the polymerization of hydrogen cyanide in aqueous solution as proposed by Eschenmoser. [13] Theprebiotic origin of 1 has remained elusive, and Eschenmoser concluded that hitherto unknown reservoirs of 1 must exist as am ajor prerequisite for the "glyoxylate scenario".…”

Section: Dedicated To Drhans Peter Reisenauermentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of Glyoxylic Acid in Interstellar Ices: A Key Entry Point for Prebiotic Chemistry

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With nearly 200 molecules detected in interstellar and circumstellar environments,t he identification of the biologically relevant a-keto carboxylic acid, glyoxylic acid (HCOCOOH), is still elusive.H erein, the formation of glyoxylic acid via cosmic-ray driven, non-equilibrium chemistry in polar interstellar ices of carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H 2 O) at 5K via barrierless recombination of formyl (HCO) and hydroxycarbonyl radicals (HOCO) is reported. In temperature-programmed desorption experiments,the subliming neutral molecules were selectively photoionized and identified based on the ionization energy and distinct massto-charge ratios in combination with isotopically labeled experiments exploiting reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry.These studies unravel akey reaction path to glyoxylic acid, an organic molecule formed in interstellar ices before subliming in star-forming regions like SgrB2(N), thus providing ac ritical entry point to prebiotic organic synthesis.

show abstract

“…Alternative chemical pathways toward the formation of amino acids in photolyzed ice mixtures have also been recently proposed (Bossa et al 2010) with circularly polarized light initiating an enantiomeric excess of amino acids (Modica et al 2014). Various nucleobases synthesis pathways have been established since the 1960s (see for instance : Ferris and Orgel 1966;Menor-Salván and Marín-Yaseli 2013;Miyakawa et al 2002aMiyakawa et al , 2002bMiyakawa et al , 2002cOro 1960;Oro and Kimball 1961;Robertson and Miller 1995) (see also Martins 2012 for a review). It has also been shown that a component of the organic residue synthesized by irradiation of interstellar and cometary ice spontaneously organizes into boundary structures .…”

Section: Classical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Astrobiology and the Possibility of Life on Earth and Elsewhere…

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary scientific field not only focused on the search of extraterrestrial life, but also on deciphering the key environmental parameters that have enabled the emergence of life on Earth. Understanding these physical and chemical parameters is fundamental knowledge necessary not only for discovering life or signs of life on other planets, but also for understanding our own terrestrial environment. Therefore, astrobiology pushes us to combine different perspectives such as the conditions on the primitive Earth, the Team of interdisciplinary scientists focused on astrobiology to review the profound transformations in the field that have occurred since the beginning of the new century. The present paper is an interdisciplinary review of current research in astrobiology, covering the major advances and main outlooks in the field. The following subjects will be reviewed and most recent discoveries will be highlighted: the new understanding of planetary system formation including the specificity of the Earth among the diversity of planets, the origin of water on Earth and its unique combined properties among solvents for the emergence of life, the idea that the Earth could have been habitable during the Hadean Era, the inventory of endogenous and exogenous sources of organic matter and new concepts about how chemistry could evolve towards biological molecules and biological systems. In addition, many new findings show the remarkable potential life has for adaptation and survival in extreme environments. All those results from different fields of science are guiding our perspectives and strategies to look for life in other Solar System objects as well as beyond, in extrasolar worlds.

show abstract

A New Route for the Prebiotic Synthesis of Nucleobases and Hydantoins in Water/Ice Solutions Involving the Photochemistry of Acetylene

Cited by 66 publications

References 77 publications

The Role of Aqueous Aerosols in the “Glyoxylate Scenario”: An Experimental Approach

The Role of Aqueous Aerosols in the “Glyoxylate Scenario”: An Experimental Approach

Formation of Glyoxylic Acid in Interstellar Ices: A Key Entry Point for Prebiotic Chemistry

Astrobiology and the Possibility of Life on Earth and Elsewhere…

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About