QUANTUM TUNNELING IN INTERSTELLAR ICE BY AMMONIA (NH₃) AND ACETALDEHYDE (CH₃CHO): CHELATION AGENTS TO ASSIST RNA REPLICATION

Marks, Joshua H

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122397 Copy

Description

Title

QUANTUM TUNNELING IN INTERSTELLAR ICE BY AMMONIA (NH₃) AND ACETALDEHYDE (CH₃CHO): CHELATION AGENTS TO ASSIST RNA REPLICATION

Author(s)

Marks, Joshua H

Contributor(s)

• Kaiser, Ralf Ingo
• Mebel, Alexander M
• Antonov, Ivan
• McAnally, Mason
• Kuznetsov, Oleg V.
• Evseev, Mikhail M.
• Kleimeier, N. Fabian
• Turner, Andrew Martin
• Wang, Jia

Issue Date

2023-06-23

Keyword(s)

Mini-symposium: Infrared Spectroscopy in the JWST Era

Abstract

Ion transport represents a vital process in all modern lifeforms, but how early cells could have accomplished this without the complex proteins used by modern cells has remained a mystery. Here, we investigate thermal reactions in interstellar analog ices of ammonia (NH₃) and acetaldehyde (CH₃CHO) with high-sensitivity and isomer-specific tunable vacuum-ultraviolet photoionization techniques. Nucleophilic addition allows access to 1-aminoethanol (CH₃CH(OH)NH₂) at temperatures as low as 65 K. Isotopic substitution experiments in concert with computational analysis provide mechanistic information on addition and dehydration reactions in the unique environment of interstellar ices. The high sensitivity of photoionization mass spectrometry reveals the formation of additional products such as ethanimine (CH₃CHNH) and the first observations of 1-(1-hydroxyethylamino) ethanol (NH(CH(OH)CH₃)₂) and 1-ethylideneaminoethanol (CH₃CH(OH)NCHCH₃). Low-temperature formation of these molecules indicates that sequential addition and dehydration reactions are feasible in cold interstellar environments and represent an unconventional starting point from which large chelating agents of biorelevant metal ions may have been produced abiotically and with delivery to planets like early earth could enable ion transport in primitive cells.

Publisher

International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy

Type of Resource

Text

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122397

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