Organophosphorus Compound Formation Through the Oxidation of Reduced Oxidation State Phosphorus Compounds on the Hadean Earth

Gull, Maheen; Feng, Tian; Bracegirdle, Joe; Abbott-Lyon, Heather; Pasek, Matthew A.

doi:10.1007/s00239-022-10086-w

Cited by 5 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Iron phosphite (FeHPO 3 ) was synthesized as previously [48]. Equimolar solutions of FeCl 2 •4H 2 O and H 3 PO 3 (0.1 M each) were mixed slowly, and the mixture was stirred with the help of a magnetic stirrer.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31 P-NMR analysis of the starting material showed no other P peaks as impurities (Figure 1a). Fenton reactions were formed by the previously reported method [41,48]: aqueous solution of equimolar (0.2 M of both) hypophosphite (H 2 PO 2 − ) and FeCl 2 .4H 2 O (equal volumes, 0.1 M total of each reagent) were mixed and dissolved to form an homogenous solution. The total volume of this solution was 20 mL (10 mL for each of the solutions described above).…”

Section: Oxidation Of Hypophosphite By Fenton Reactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resulting solution mixture was filtered with the help of a Whatman filter paper no. 1 and stored for further use as previously [48]. This filtrate was labeled as inorganic P Fenton solution (IPF solution hereafter).…”

Section: Syntheses Of Biological P Esters By P Products From Fenton S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The unsealed reaction vial was then allowed to heat at 55-68 • C from 20 h to 5 days, on a hot plate with a magnetic stirrer. The reaction mixture was kept unsealed to promote evaporation of water introduced from the IPF solution to mimic a hot drying and concentrated pool on the early Earth [22,30,[48][49][50]. Two reaction sets for each organic reagent, including the nucleosides, organic alcohols, and the ammonium compound, were allowed to heat (unsealed) at 55-68 • C from 20 h to 5 days, with the only difference being the type of solvent.…”

Section: Syntheses Of Biological P Esters By P Products From Fenton S...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our previous studies, we demonstrated that inorganic P compounds generated through Fenton chemistry of hypophosphite actively react with nucleosides in water in the presence of urea and NH 4 + to generate phosphite and phosphate esters, including dimers (nucleoside-phosphate-nucleoside) and cyclic organic phosphates [48]. In the present study, we report plausible Fenton reactions of hypophosphite in non-aqueous solvents such as formamide and a semi-aqueous solvent composed of urea, ammonium formate, and water (UAFW, hereafter).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prebiotic Syntheses of Organophosphorus Compounds from Reduced Source of Phosphorus in Non-Aqueous Solvents

Gull,

Feng,

Smith

et al. 2023

Life

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Reduced-oxidation-state phosphorus (reduced P, hereafter) compounds were likely available on the early Earth via meteorites or through various geologic processes. Due to their reactivity and high solubility, these compounds could have played a significant role in the origin of various organophosphorus compounds of biochemical significance. In the present work, we study the reactions between reduced P compounds and their oxidation products, with the three nucleosides (uridine, adenosine, and cytidine), with organic alcohols (glycerol and ethanolamine), and with the tertiary ammonium organic compound, choline chloride. These reactions were studied in the non-aqueous solvent formamide and in a semi-aqueous solvent comprised of urea: ammonium formate: water (UAFW, hereafter) at temperatures of 55–68 °C. The inorganic P compounds generated through Fenton chemistry readily dissolve in the non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and react with organics to form organophosphites and organophosphates, including those which are identified as phosphate diesters. This dual approach (1) use of non-aqueous and semi-aqueous solvents and (2) use of a reactive inorganic P source to promote phosphorylation and phosphonylation reactions of organics readily promoted anhydrous chemistry and condensation reactions, without requiring any additive, catalyst, or other promoting agent under mild heating conditions. We also present a comparative study of the release of P from various prebiotically relevant phosphate minerals and phosphite salts (e.g., vivianite, apatite, and phosphites of iron and calcium) into formamide and UAFW. These results have direct implications for the origin of biological P compounds from non-aqueous solvents of prebiotic provenance.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%