Ultraviolet irradiation of glycine in presence of pyrite as a model of chemical evolution: an experimental and molecular modelling approach

Cruz-López, Azarhel de la; Angel-Meraz, Ebelia Del; Colín-García, Marìa; Ramos-Bernal, S.; Negrón‐Mendoza, A.; Heredia, Alejandro

doi:10.1017/s1473550416000161

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…We found that, in our laboratory conditions, pure GLY has a half-life of 1-2 days, consistent with the findings of Guan et al (2010), although in other simulated space conditions it seems to be less photostable, with a reported half-life time of 700-1,000 s in Ehrenfreund et al (2001). This result is therefore consistent with the chemical stability of GLY against exposure to ionizing radiation, in agreement with previous works also with other types of radiation (de La Cruz-López et al, 2017). However, we have to consider the possibility that glycine features do not show significant changes in band intensities because DRIFT spectroscopy involves a sample layer much thicker than the one affected by UV irradiation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Ultraviolet Photoprocessing of Glycine Adsorbed on Various Space-Relevant Minerals

Poggiali

Fornaro

Potenti

et al. 2020

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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The discovery of amino acids such as glycine on meteorites and comets confirms the role of small bodies as transport and delivery vehicles of building blocks of life on Earth and possibly on other planetary bodies of our Solar System. Glycine is quite interesting because it is the simplest of the 20 biogenic amino acids, from which complex organic molecules might have originated in our evolved Solar System. To investigate the possible chemical evolution of this molecule in space, it is important to consider how the interaction with mineral matrices influences its photostability. Indeed, the presence of minerals can mediate the effects of electromagnetic radiation, catalyzing photoreactions, or protecting molecules against degradation. Such interactions are responsible for the preservation/degradation mechanisms of organic molecules in space environments. Laboratory simulations of UV processing may provide key insights into the survival of organic molecules in space environment and rocky surfaces, which is of particular relevance for current missions of sample return from asteroids, such as NASA OSIRIS-REx and JAXA Hayabusa 2, and in particular, upcoming space exploration missions on planetary surfaces, such as ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2022 and NASA Mars 2020. In this article, we report a laboratory study of UV irradiation of glycine adsorbed on various space relevant minerals: forsterite, antigorite, spinel, and pyrite. We monitored possible changes of glycine functional groups due to UV irradiation through in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopic analysis. Results show that degradation of glycine occurs with a half-life of 0.5-2 h depending on the mineral substrate. Appearance of new IR bands suggests the occurrence of catalytic reactions mediated by minerals and UV.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Ultraviolet Photoprocessing of Glycine Adsorbed on Various Space-Relevant Minerals

Poggiali

Fornaro

Potenti

et al. 2020

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…However, little is known about the surface chemistry of pyrite under vacuum conditions (simulated absence of oxygen), and few studies concerning oxidation, hydration and desulfurization reactions on pyrite surfaces have been reported [27,28]. The adsorption of amino acids on the surface of pyrite has been studied experimentally and theoretically [29,30]. The surface of pyrite has a rich chemistry due to the surface defect sites, where either iron or sulfur ions are exposed and can serve as adsorption sites for various ionic species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultraviolet Irradiation on a Pyrite Surface Improves Triglycine Adsorption

Gálvez-Martínez

Mateo‐Martí

2018

Life

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We characterized the adsorption of triglycine molecules on a pyrite surface under several simulated environmental conditions by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The triglycine molecular adsorption on a pyrite surface under vacuum conditions (absence of oxygen) shows the presence of two different states for the amine functional group (NH2 and NH3+), therefore two chemical species (anionic and zwitterionic). On the other hand, molecular adsorption from a solution discriminates the NH2 as a unique molecular adsorption form, however, the amount adsorbed in this case is higher than under vacuum conditions. Furthermore, molecular adsorption on the mineral surface is even favored if the pyrite surface has been irradiated before the molecular adsorption occurs. Pyrite surface chemistry is highly sensitive to the chemical changes induced by UV irradiation, as XPS analysis shows the presence of Fe2O3 and Fe2SO4—like environments on the surface. Surface chemical changes induced by UV help to increase the probability of adsorption of molecular species and their subsequent concentration on the pyrite surface.

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“…Hazen et al reported the selective interaction of l - and d -amino acids with calcite surfaces [ 1 ]. De la Cruz-López et al [ 36 ] using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and semi-empirical molecular computational simulations, found that Gly self-assembled on pyrite with and without exposure to UV radiation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-Dependent Affinity of Glycine and Its Short Oligomers to Pyrite Surface: A Model for Prebiotic Accumulation of Amino Acid Oligomers on a Mineral Surface

Afrin

Ganbaatar

Aono

et al. 2018

IJMS

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The interaction strength of progressively longer oligomers of glycine, (Gly), di-Gly, tri-Gly, and penta-Gly, with a natural pyrite surface was directly measured using the force mode of an atomic force microscope (AFM). In recent years, selective activation of abiotically formed amino acids on mineral surfaces, especially that of pyrite, has been proposed as an important step in many origins of life scenarios. To investigate such notions, we used AFM-based force measurements to probe possible non-covalent interactions between pyrite and amino acids, starting from the simplest amino acid, Gly. Although Gly itself interacted with the pyrite surface only weakly, progressively larger unbinding forces and binding frequencies were obtained using oligomers from di-Gly to penta-Gly. In addition to an expected increase of the configurational entropy and size-dependent van der Waals force, the increasing number of polar peptide bonds, among others, may be responsible for this observation. The effect of chain length was also investigated by performing similar experiments using l-lysine vs. poly-l-lysine (PLL), and l-glutamic acid vs. poly-l-glutamic acid. The results suggest that longer oligomers/polymers of amino acids can be preferentially adsorbed on pyrite surfaces.

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Ultraviolet irradiation of glycine in presence of pyrite as a model of chemical evolution: an experimental and molecular modelling approach

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

Ultraviolet Photoprocessing of Glycine Adsorbed on Various Space-Relevant Minerals

Ultraviolet Photoprocessing of Glycine Adsorbed on Various Space-Relevant Minerals

Ultraviolet Irradiation on a Pyrite Surface Improves Triglycine Adsorption

Size-Dependent Affinity of Glycine and Its Short Oligomers to Pyrite Surface: A Model for Prebiotic Accumulation of Amino Acid Oligomers on a Mineral Surface

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