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The transformation by catalysis of prebiotic chemical systems to useful biochemicals : A perspective based on IR spectroscopy of the primary chemicals: I. the synthesis of peptides by the condensation of amino acids

Larsson, Ragnar LU ; Malek, Abdul and Odenbrand, Ingemar LU (2020) In Applied Sciences (Switzerland) 10(3).
Abstract

It is now widely speculated that life originated at the "Black Smokers" of the undersea hydrothermal vents, where conditions exist for the formation of the primary ingredients and their subsequent transformation to higher biotic species such as amino acids, alcohols, etc. Any possible routes for the prebiotic oligomerization of simple compounds like amino acids, necessary for cell formation, has so far not been well understood. However, Leman et al. recently reported that under standard laboratory conditions carbonyl sulfide (COS) can "mediate" the oligomerization of simple amino acids in moderate yield. COS being a well-known volcanic gas points to its possible role in prebiotic peptide formation in the environment of the hydrothermal... (More)

It is now widely speculated that life originated at the "Black Smokers" of the undersea hydrothermal vents, where conditions exist for the formation of the primary ingredients and their subsequent transformation to higher biotic species such as amino acids, alcohols, etc. Any possible routes for the prebiotic oligomerization of simple compounds like amino acids, necessary for cell formation, has so far not been well understood. However, Leman et al. recently reported that under standard laboratory conditions carbonyl sulfide (COS) can "mediate" the oligomerization of simple amino acids in moderate yield. COS being a well-known volcanic gas points to its possible role in prebiotic peptide formation in the environment of the hydrothermal vents. Based on a previously developed and tested model for selective (vibrational) energy transfer (SET), we show that a COS-catalyzed condensation of ff-amino-acids can lead to the formation of polypeptides. We also indicate that other agents can act as catalysts of the amino acid condensation, such as Fe(CN)6 3- and cyanamide (H2N-CN). This is related to the existence of vibrations with a frequency near to that of the critical vibration of the reactant, ρw (NH2). This wagging vibration occurs at 1048 ± 10 cm-1 (the mean value of Cu and Ni complexes) and, as the vibration of the presumed catalyst lies at 2079 cm-1, one notes that one quantum of the catalyst equals two quanta of the NH2 wagging: 2079/2 × 1048 = 0.9919. This is a good indication of a resonance.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Amino acids, Catalysis, Polypeptides, Prebiotic reactions, Reorganization of orbital patterns (sp3 to sp2), Selective energy transfer (SET), Vibrational resonance
in
Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
volume
10
issue
3
article number
928
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081611181
ISSN
2076-3417
DOI
10.3390/app10030928
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
de992aeb-cc8c-410a-9d18-41135a02d92d
date added to LUP
2020-04-07 14:24:29
date last changed
2023-12-04 12:14:52
@article{de992aeb-cc8c-410a-9d18-41135a02d92d,
  abstract     = {{<p>It is now widely speculated that life originated at the "Black Smokers" of the undersea hydrothermal vents, where conditions exist for the formation of the primary ingredients and their subsequent transformation to higher biotic species such as amino acids, alcohols, etc. Any possible routes for the prebiotic oligomerization of simple compounds like amino acids, necessary for cell formation, has so far not been well understood. However, Leman et al. recently reported that under standard laboratory conditions carbonyl sulfide (COS) can "mediate" the oligomerization of simple amino acids in moderate yield. COS being a well-known volcanic gas points to its possible role in prebiotic peptide formation in the environment of the hydrothermal vents. Based on a previously developed and tested model for selective (vibrational) energy transfer (SET), we show that a COS-catalyzed condensation of ff-amino-acids can lead to the formation of polypeptides. We also indicate that other agents can act as catalysts of the amino acid condensation, such as Fe(CN)<sub>6</sub> <sup>3-</sup> and cyanamide (H<sub>2</sub>N-CN). This is related to the existence of vibrations with a frequency near to that of the critical vibration of the reactant, ρ<sub>w</sub> (NH<sub>2</sub>). This wagging vibration occurs at 1048 ± 10 cm<sup>-1</sup> (the mean value of Cu and Ni complexes) and, as the vibration of the presumed catalyst lies at 2079 cm<sup>-1</sup>, one notes that one quantum of the catalyst equals two quanta of the NH<sub>2</sub> wagging: 2079/2 × 1048 = 0.9919. This is a good indication of a resonance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Larsson, Ragnar and Malek, Abdul and Odenbrand, Ingemar}},
  issn         = {{2076-3417}},
  keywords     = {{Amino acids; Catalysis; Polypeptides; Prebiotic reactions; Reorganization of orbital patterns (sp3 to sp2); Selective energy transfer (SET); Vibrational resonance}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Applied Sciences (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{The transformation by catalysis of prebiotic chemical systems to useful biochemicals : A perspective based on IR spectroscopy of the primary chemicals: I. the synthesis of peptides by the condensation of amino acids}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app10030928}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/app10030928}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}