Shock Processing of Amino Acids Leading to Complex Structures—Implications to the Origin of Life

Singh, Surendra V. ; Vishakantaiah, Jayaram ; Meka, Jaya K. ; Sivaprahasam, Vijayan ; Chandrasekaran, Vijayanand ; Thombre, Rebecca ; Thiruvenkatam, Vijay ; Mallya, Ambresh ; Rajasekhar, Balabhadrapatruni N. ; Muruganantham, Mariyappan ; Datey, Akshay ; Hill, Hugh ; Bhardwaj, Anil ; Jagadeesh, Gopalan ; Reddy, Kalidevapura P. J. ; Mason, Nigel J. ; Sivaraman, Bhalamurugan (2020) Shock Processing of Amino Acids Leading to Complex Structures—Implications to the Origin of Life Molecules, 25 (23). p. 5634. ISSN 1420-3049

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25235634

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules25235634

Abstract

he building blocks of life, amino acids, are believed to have been synthesized in the extreme conditions that prevail in space, starting from simple molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, the fate and role of amino acids when they are subjected to similar processes largely remain unexplored. Here we report, for the first time, that shock processed amino acids tend to form complex agglomerate structures. Such structures are formed on timescales of about 2 ms due to impact induced shock heating and subsequent cooling. This discovery suggests that the building blocks of life could have self-assembled not just on Earth but on other planetary bodies as a result of impact events. Our study also provides further experimental evidence for the ‘threads’ observed in meteorites being due to assemblages of (bio)molecules arising from impact-induced shocks.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Molecular Diversity Preservation International.
ID Code:133657
Deposited On:29 Dec 2022 10:46
Last Modified:09 Jan 2023 09:58

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