Hydrogen cyanide polymers connect cosmochemistry and biochemistry

Abstract

Abstract.To understand the origin of protein/nucleic acid based life as we know it on Earth, we must "follow" the nitrogen. Because of its unique hydrogen bonding characteristics, nitrogen is the key element in catalytic and/or informational proteins and nucleic acids essential to cell function and reproduction. We present evidence that HCN is the original source of prebiotic protein and nucleobase nitrogen. We also present chemically rational models supporting the radical hypothesis that the polymerization of HCN yields ab initio mundi prebiotic protein and polynucleobase macromolecules of sufficient size and complexity to allow the spontaneous generation of pre-RNA World biopolymers capable of catalysis and information transfer.

Prebiotic Chemistry of Pluto

“…While many of the molecular species observed in the laboratory at low temperature under energetic irradiation of UV photons are highly reactive, HCN is of special note, as it appears to form both in Pluto's atmosphere and on the surface (Lellouch et al, 2017). HCN is a gateway molecule that through many reaction pathways leads to the formation of purines, pyrimidines, porphyrins, amino acids, and so on (e.g., Ferris et al, 1978;Basile et al, 1984;Borquez et al, 2005;Matthews and Minard, 2008), all of which are of prebiological significance.…”

Prebiotic-chemistry inspired polymer coatings for biomedical and material science applications

“…Matthew's and Ferris' separate studies of HCN polymerization chemistry, as well as Sagan's and Khare's study of tholins, also involved the facile production of complex, highly colored organic polymers. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] They have also been considered as a potential source of amino acids, nucleobases and peptides on earth and appear to be common throughout our solar system. For example, these materials have been proposed to be the source of the distinctive orange, redbrown and black colors of comets and the atmosphere of planets and moons such as Saturn, Jupiter and Titan and carbonaceous meteorites, indicating their abundance in our solar system and the universe, respectively.…”

“…Hydrolysis experiments of the polymers result in the observation of amino acids with particularly significant amounts of glycine and polycyclic nitrogenous compounds such as purines and imidazole derivatives (Supplementary Figure S1). 9,11,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Because of these properties, we investigated the AMN polymer as a candidate for a new generic coating method that may be particularly useful in biomedical applications such as cell culture tools, providing high cell attachment and surface coatings on implantable medical devices providing enhanced tissue integration.…”

Thermal characterization of HCN polymers by TG–MS, TG, DTA and DSC methods

“…The HCN polymers could be the major component of the dark matter observed on many bodies of the outer solar system including asteroids, moons, planets and, especially, comets [5,6]. It has been also proposed that the reddish haze (tholin) present in the atmosphere of Titan could be analogous to HCN polymers [7].…”