Primordial Radioactivity and Prebiotic Chemical Evolution: Effect of gamma Radiation on Formamide-Based Synthesis

0536901 - ÚFCH JH 2021 RIV US eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Pastorek, Adam - Ferus, Martin - Čuba, V. - Šrámek, O. - Ivanek, Ondřej - Civiš, Svatopluk
Primordial Radioactivity and Prebiotic Chemical Evolution: Effect of gamma Radiation on Formamide-Based Synthesis.
Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Roč. 124, č. 41 (2020), s. 8951-8959. ISSN 1520-6106. E-ISSN 1520-5207
Grant CEP: GA ČR GA19-03314S; GA MŠMT EF16_019/0000778
Institucionální podpora: RVO:61388955
Klíčová slova: high-energy chemistry * amino-acids * hydrogen-cyanide * origin * life * nucleobases * rna * radiolysis * mechanism * radicals
Obor OECD: Physical chemistry
Impakt faktor: 2.991, rok: 2020
Způsob publikování: Omezený přístup

Although the effect of ionizing radiation on prebiotic chemistry is often overlooked, primordial natural radioactivity might have been an important source of energy for various chemical transformations. Estimates of the abundances of short-lived radionuclides on early Earth suggest that the primordial intensity of endogenous terrestrial radioactivity was up to 4 x 10(3) times higher than it is today. Therefore, we assume that chemical substances in contact with radioactive rocks should therefore undergo radiolysis. The calculations are followed by research investigating the influence of ionizing gamma radiation on basic prebiotic substances, including formamide mixed with various clays, which might have played the role of a catalyst and an agent that partially blocked radiation that was potentially destructive for the products. Our explorations of this effect have shown that the irradiation of formamide-clay mixtures at doses of similar to 6 kGy produces significant amounts of urea (up to the maximal concentration of approximately 250 mg L-1), which plays a role in HCN-based prebiotic chemistry.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314653