Prebiotic Soup Components Trapped in Montmorillonite Nanoclay Form New Molecules: Car-Parrinello Ab Initio Simulations

Mayen, Juan Francisco Carrascoza; Rydzewski, Jakub; Szostak, Natalia; Błażewicz, Jacek; Nowak, Wiesław

doi:10.3390/life9020046

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the role that vanadium could have actively played in a prebiotic evolutionary world has not yet been clearly demonstrated, nevertheless the various hypotheses on prebiotic chemistry which have been so far proposed can help to better outline the contours within which delineate and define in a more realistic way this role. Main dissertations in the context of life occurrence in the prebiotic world, range from a terrestrial perspective, for example, the active role deriving from the particular high temperature and pressure values present in hydrothermal vents [ 87 ], to an extraterrestrial one, e.g., the several biogenic functions attributed to meteorites [ 12 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Capability of Oxidovanadium(IV) Derivatives to Act as All-Around Catalytic Promoters Since the Prebiotic World

Campitelli

Crucianelli

2020

Molecules

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For a long time the biological role of vanadium was not known, while now the possibility of using its derivatives as potential therapeutic agents has given rise to investigations on their probable side effects. Vanadium compounds may inhibit different biochemical processes and lead to a variety of toxic effects and serious diseases. But, on the other hand, vanadium is an essential element for life. In recent years, increasing evidence has been acquired on the possible roles of vanadium in the higher forms of life. Despite several biochemical and physiological functions that have been suggested for vanadium and notwithstanding the amount of the knowledge so far accumulated, it still does not have a clearly defined role in the higher forms of life. What functions could vanadium or its very stable oxidovanadium(IV) derivatives have had in the prebiotic world and in the origins of life? In this review, we have briefly tried to highlight the most useful aspects that can be taken into consideration to give an answer to this still unresolved question and to show the high versatility of the oxidovanadium(IV) group to act as promoter of several oxidation reactions when coordinated with a variety of ligands, including diketones like acylpyrazolones.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Capability of Oxidovanadium(IV) Derivatives to Act as All-Around Catalytic Promoters Since the Prebiotic World

Campitelli

Crucianelli

2020

Molecules

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, experimental evidence and theoretical simulations of aqueous systems have shown that water could generate spontaneous electric fields of up to 2.5-3.0 V Å −1 (Reischl et al 2009). Also, the induced electric field over the surface of certain clays of extraterrestrial origin has been modeled, and it has been demonstrated that it can enhance the reactivity of a system to produce small organic compounds (Carrascoza Mayén et al 2019). These results suggest than electric fields can be generated in water and clay surfaces in different astrophysical environments within the ISM and Earth-like conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both methods have been implemented in simulations of Miller-Urey-like molecular systems. Several simulations have demonstrated that the first transformations from elementary substances such as water, ammonia, carbon monoxide, cyanide, and formaldehyde can lead to complex chemical structures in a stepwise manner (Saitta & Saija 2014;Carrascoza Mayén et al 2019;Magrino et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ab Initio Study of Glycine Formation in the Condensed Phase: Carbon Monoxide, Formaldimine, and Water Are Enough

Carrascoza,

Lukasiak,

Nowak

et al. 2023

ApJ

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glycine is considered to be crucial in the formation of proteins and prebiotic substances. Nevertheless, the mechanism of spontaneous glycine formation under prebiotic Earth conditions or within the interstellar medium (ISM) remains a topic of debate, given the changing geochemical environment over Earth’s history and the difficulty of detecting it within the ISM. Yet it is believed that its formation could be possible in interstellar water-rich ice. In this study, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at the ab initio level of theory enhanced with modern free energy calculations, we modeled the chemical reaction between carbon monoxide, formaldimine, and water to produce glycine. We estimated under what conditions, in condensed phase at 50, 70, 100, and 300 K, glycine is formed. We also explored the effect of different electric fields on this process. Our results show that glycine could be formed with energy barriers as low as 0.5 kcal mol−1 at 50 K. We discuss whether this reaction could be a suitable candidate for explaining the mechanism of glycine formation under conditions that resemble various astrophysical environments, such as planets, exoplanets, and Earth. This study is relevant to finding a consensus among various proposals for glycine formation. Moreover, it highlights the importance of metadynamics and Car–Parrinello MD methods as tools in finding unknown complex, multistep reaction mechanism pathways, possibly important to the astronomical phenomena.

show abstract

“…The origin of life implies inexorably the combination of all elements of the primigenial stage of the Earth. For decades, the possible geochemical conditions and physical factors that could have existed in that era, which as a whole gave origin to the first construction blocks of life, have been emulated. − Among the described physical factors that participated in the origin of the first molecules were high UV radiation, electrical storms, reducing atmosphere, high temperatures, impacts from comets, and catalytic mineral surfaces . Hence, it has been concluded that the minerals and rocks of the Precambrian catalyzed the synthesis of the first biomolecules; , but, were all mineral surfaces that existed in that era able to catalyze the reactions?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Different Types of Clay Minerals on the Shape and Form of Silica-Carbonates (Biomorphs) of Ca(II), Ba(II), and Sr(II)

Cuéllar‐Cruz

Ramírez-Cardona

Islas

et al. 2022

ACS Earth Space Chem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The array of atmospheric and chemical conditions that prevailed during the Precambrian era favored the origin of life in our planet. The minerals and rocks that existed in that era catalyzed the synthesis of the first biomolecules. It has been shown that mineral clays possess the best-suited mineral surface to study the polymerization of protobiomolecules because they catalyze the binding of monomers to form peptides and nucleic acids and foster the binding between them. Inorganic structures exist formed by silica-carbonates of calcium, barium, or strontium, called biomorphs, which emulate the morphological structure of diverse organisms. Some of these morphologies resemble several of the microfossils found in the Precambrian cherts. Notwithstanding, it has not been documented yet whether biomorphs are a consequence of the dissolution of clays in alkaline environments (rich in alkaline earth metals) during the initial stages of the Earth, which would favor the hypothesis that the biomorphs or cherts existed since that time. To know whether biomorphs could have been embedded within minerals or in diverse types of clays and contributed to the synthesis of protobiomolecules, we aimed at synthesizing biomorphs in the presence of different clays of natural origin in two synthesis conditions that resemble both the atmosphere of the Precambrian era and that of the current time, regarding the CO2 concentration. Our results revealed that in the condition emulating the Precambrian, polymorphs of calcite, aragonite, and vaterite were formed. The barium and strontium biomorphs adopted the morphology of radiolarians, diatoms, and foraminifers in this same condition, indicating that they could be the first structure of these organisms. Results also revealed that the clays present in the Precambrian together with the prevailing environmental conditions played a preponderant role as catalyzers in the structural morphology, chemical composition, and crystalline habit adopted by the first organisms. Biomorphs could have been the first inorganic structures with a structural order and characteristic shape (preserving biomolecules in their interior when they were formed) that were synthetized in the early era of our planet, but they have not been dated as a fossil registry.

show abstract

Prebiotic Soup Components Trapped in Montmorillonite Nanoclay Form New Molecules: Car-Parrinello Ab Initio Simulations

Cited by 8 publications

References 72 publications

On the Capability of Oxidovanadium(IV) Derivatives to Act as All-Around Catalytic Promoters Since the Prebiotic World

On the Capability of Oxidovanadium(IV) Derivatives to Act as All-Around Catalytic Promoters Since the Prebiotic World

Ab Initio Study of Glycine Formation in the Condensed Phase: Carbon Monoxide, Formaldimine, and Water Are Enough

Influence of Different Types of Clay Minerals on the Shape and Form of Silica-Carbonates (Biomorphs) of Ca(II), Ba(II), and Sr(II)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About