Thermal Condensation of Glycine and Alanine on Metal Ferrite Surface: Primitive Peptide Bond Formation Scenario

Abstract

The amino acid condensation reaction on a heterogeneous mineral surface has been regarded as one of the important pathways for peptide bond formation. Keeping this in view, we have studied the oligomerization of the simple amino acids, glycine and alanine, on nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4), cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4), copper ferrite (CuFe2O4), zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4), and manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles surfaces, in the temperature range from 50–120 °C for 1–35 days, without applying any wetting/drying cycles. Among the metal ferrites tested for their catalytic activity, NiFe2O4 produced the highest yield of products by oligomerizing glycine to the trimer level and alanine to the dimer level, whereas MnFe2O4 was the least efficient catalyst, producing the lowest yield of products, as well as shorter oligomers of amino acids under the same set of experimental conditions. It produced primarily diketopiperazine (Ala) with a trace amount of alanine dimer from alanine condensation, while glycine was oligomerized to the dimer level. The trend in product formation is in accordance with the surface area of the minerals used. A temperature as low as 50 °C can even favor peptide bond formation in the present study, which is important in the sense that the condensation process is highly feasible without any sort of localized heat that may originate from volcanoes or hydrothermal vents. However, at a high temperature of 120 °C, anhydrides of glycine and alanine formation are favored, while the optimum temperature for the highest yield of product formation was found to be 90 °C.

Are Scientific Models of Life Testable? A Lesson from Simpson’s Paradox

“…We mention the idea of prebiotic hydrothermal compartments to explain a scenario under which a SP can be validated. In this scenario, each compartment acts as an individual sub-reaction chamber producing molecules in yields similar to those reported by other investigators [24,25]. However, in this scenario these compartments release the products of their reaction, either via destruction of the compartment or through leaky walls.…”

“…MFT suggests that the chemistry leading to life could have occurred in a relatively stable environment containing some catalytic activities that would have expedited the production of other important and relevant bio-molecules. Many proponents of MFT believe minerals served several critical functions during this process [24,25]. These functions include: catalysis, protection, support and selection.…”

Resource Upgrading in Advanced Supercritical Fluid (Supercritical Fluid with Catalyst and Cosolvent): Liquid Fuels from Biomass in Sub and Supercritical Water and Carbohydrate Up-Conversion in Ionic Liquid and Supercritical Fluids Mixtures

“…In the origin of life point of view, amino acid touches on the surface of inorganic materials at the deep sea near the hydrothermal vent and the effect of the inorganics on the stability of amino acid has been studied. It was reported that iron compounds enhance dimerization to form alanyl-alanine and diketopiperazine at hydrothermal condition [53]. Glycine and alanine are reacted at 100°C for 35 days with metal ferrites such as NiFeO 4 to obtain 30% of yield of dimerization products [53].…”

“…It was reported that iron compounds enhance dimerization to form alanyl-alanine and diketopiperazine at hydrothermal condition [53]. Glycine and alanine are reacted at 100°C for 35 days with metal ferrites such as NiFeO 4 to obtain 30% of yield of dimerization products [53].…”

Molecules to Microbes

“…He floats the idea that such nitrogenous bases of purine and pyrimidine can be made on Earth, on the surface of iron oxide nano-particles, namely NiFe 2 O 4 , CoFe 2 O 4 , CuFe 2 O 4 , ZnFe 2 O 4 and MnFe 2 O 4 as these divalent metal ions in iron oxide make them excellent catalytic systems. These minerals may have been present on Earth by 300 million years after its formation [4,24,25]. Konstantinos Papasakellariou (Agricultural University of Athens) delivered an impressive oral presentation on a high throughput computational approach for the fractionation of RNA species from whole transcriptomes.…”