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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2016

Azarhel de la Cruz-López ,
Ebelia del Ángel-Meraz ,
María Colín-García ,
Sergio Ramos-Bernal ,
Alicia Negrón-Mendoza  and
Alejandro Heredia
Azarhel de la Cruz-López
Affiliation:
División Académica de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Carretera Cunduacán-Jalpa de Méndez, Col. La Esmeralda. Cunduacán, C.P. 86690, Tabasco, México Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior S/N, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
Ebelia del Ángel-Meraz
Affiliation:
División Académica de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Carretera Cunduacán-Jalpa de Méndez, Col. La Esmeralda. Cunduacán, C.P. 86690, Tabasco, México
María Colín-García
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geología, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior S/N, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 Ciudad de México, México
Sergio Ramos-Bernal
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior S/N, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
Alicia Negrón-Mendoza
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior S/N, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
Alejandro Heredia*
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior S/N, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
*
e-mail: aheredia@nucleares.unam.mx
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Abstract

In this work, the molecular interaction of the amino acid glycine and the mineral pyrite was performed to gain insight into the potential role of the mineral as a precursor of chemical complexity in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Glycine samples were self-assembled on pyrite with and without exposure to UV radiation and subsequently characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy (with the second-derivative method), and AM1 and PM3 semi-empirical molecular computational simulations. In this work, our molecular modelling results suggest that pyrite acts as a template for self-assembly of glycine, and it is a potential catalyst for the glycine dimerization of relevance in interstellar space and ancient Earth conditions. A change in the structural complexity of glycine from the α to its γ polymorph when irradiated with UV radiation can be a condition for chemical evolution towards living forms.

Keywords

chemical evolutionglycinepyriteself-assemblyultraviolet ionizing radiation
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , July 2017 , pp. 237 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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