11:15 AM - 11:30 AM
[PPS08-09] The effects of mineral for sugar formation by gamma-rays simulating inside meteorite parent body conditions
Keywords:Sugars, Formose reaction, Gamma-rays, Mineral
Introduction
It is important to consider the origin of amino acids (the building blocks of protein), sugars and nucleobases (the building blocks of RNA and DNA) in order to reveal the chemical evolution of life. Sugars have been detected in some meteorites [1, 2] along with amino acids and nucleobases. Thus, it is possibility that these biologically essential substances formed in extraterrestrial environments were delivered to the early Earth by meteorites, comets or interplanetary dust particles. As a prebiotic sugar formation reaction, formose reaction, in which sugars are produced from formaldehyde under basic condition, has attracted attention. It was known that similar reaction (formose-like reaction) simulating the aqueous alteration in meteorite parent bodies made substances whose structure was similar to insoluble organic matter (IOM) in meteorites [3], and amino acids were also formed by adding ammonia to the starting materials [4,5]. Moreover, previous studies showed the effects of minerals of such reactions [6, 7]. It has suggested that Mg2+ in olivine act as lewis-acid sites, which promote the esterification [6] and reduce the activation energy of the reaction [7]. Recently, it showed that olivine affects the formation of sugars and sugar derivatives in heating experiments simulating aqueous alteration [8].
Meteorite parent bodies are considered to be one of the possible production sites of sugars in space [2]. It is considered that radiations such as gamma-rays [9] or radioactive decay heat could be energy sources, and aldehydes, one of starting materials of formose (like) reaction, were expected to be abundant in the parent bodies before alteration. Formose (like) reaction might have occurred with the aqueous alteration caused by the radioactive decay such as 26Al. Previous studies showed the effects of gamma-rays on the formation of amino acids [9].
We showed the usefulness of gamma-rays for sugar formation. The gamma-rays caused radical reactions and produced glycolaldehyde [10], the rate-limiting step in the formose reaction. In this study, we added olivine as a catalyst to starting materials, verified its effects on sugar formation through formose-like reaction.
Experimental
To simulate aqueous alteration inside the meteoric parent bodies, the mixture of HCHO : CH3OH : NH3 : H2O = 5 : 0.83 : 1 : 100 with olivine (3 mg, 30 mg) (called FAOW) were prepared. These samples were gamma-irradiated (60Co source, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1.03 kGy/h x 87 h, 1.13 kGy/h x 80 h), then, analyzed using gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after aldnonitrile acetate ester derivatization [11]. We analyzed 3C-6C aldoses. We also prepared without olivine samples (called FAW) as control experiment, and analyzed by same procedures.
Results and Discussion
It was observed that total aldose production tended to be slightly higher in FAOW than in FAW. This trend was particularly significant for pentoses, and only small amounts of hexoses were produced. However, the effect of olivine is currently being verified. The results so far suggest that the olivine acted as a catalyst of formose like reaction. It was likely that produced hexoses were converted into another substances by further reactions (polymerization) such as Maillard reaction [12], thereby decreasing its production.
Conclusion
Previous study with heat [8] suggested that olivine achieved the pH necessary for the reaction and acted as a catalyst. In our study, the amounts of sugars produced were also greater in the presence of olivine samples than in the samples without olivine, suggesting that olivine acted in the same way as in the previous study [8]. We plan to repeat the experiment and quantitatively verify the effect of olivine in the future.
References
[1] Y. Furukawa et al., PNAS, 2019, 116, 24440-24445.
[2] G. Cooper et al., Nature, 2001, 414, 879-883.
[3] G. D. Cody et al., PNAS, 2011, 108, 19171-19176.
[4] T. Koga et al., Scientific reports, 2017, 7, 636.
[5] Y. Kebukawa et al., Science Advances, 2017, 3, e1602093.
[6] W. Elmasry et al., Life, 2021, 11, 32.
[7] A. Omran et al., Life, 2023, 13, 1297.
[8] V. Vinogradoff et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2024, 626, 118558.
[9] Y. Kebukawa et al., ACS Cent. Sci., 2022, 8, 1664-1671.
[10] A. López-Islas et al., Int. J. Astrobiol., 2018, 18, 420-425.
[11] K. Kobayashi et al., Bunseki Kagaku, 1989, 38, 608-612.
[12] V. Vinogradoff et al., Icarus., 2017, 305, 358-370.
It is important to consider the origin of amino acids (the building blocks of protein), sugars and nucleobases (the building blocks of RNA and DNA) in order to reveal the chemical evolution of life. Sugars have been detected in some meteorites [1, 2] along with amino acids and nucleobases. Thus, it is possibility that these biologically essential substances formed in extraterrestrial environments were delivered to the early Earth by meteorites, comets or interplanetary dust particles. As a prebiotic sugar formation reaction, formose reaction, in which sugars are produced from formaldehyde under basic condition, has attracted attention. It was known that similar reaction (formose-like reaction) simulating the aqueous alteration in meteorite parent bodies made substances whose structure was similar to insoluble organic matter (IOM) in meteorites [3], and amino acids were also formed by adding ammonia to the starting materials [4,5]. Moreover, previous studies showed the effects of minerals of such reactions [6, 7]. It has suggested that Mg2+ in olivine act as lewis-acid sites, which promote the esterification [6] and reduce the activation energy of the reaction [7]. Recently, it showed that olivine affects the formation of sugars and sugar derivatives in heating experiments simulating aqueous alteration [8].
Meteorite parent bodies are considered to be one of the possible production sites of sugars in space [2]. It is considered that radiations such as gamma-rays [9] or radioactive decay heat could be energy sources, and aldehydes, one of starting materials of formose (like) reaction, were expected to be abundant in the parent bodies before alteration. Formose (like) reaction might have occurred with the aqueous alteration caused by the radioactive decay such as 26Al. Previous studies showed the effects of gamma-rays on the formation of amino acids [9].
We showed the usefulness of gamma-rays for sugar formation. The gamma-rays caused radical reactions and produced glycolaldehyde [10], the rate-limiting step in the formose reaction. In this study, we added olivine as a catalyst to starting materials, verified its effects on sugar formation through formose-like reaction.
Experimental
To simulate aqueous alteration inside the meteoric parent bodies, the mixture of HCHO : CH3OH : NH3 : H2O = 5 : 0.83 : 1 : 100 with olivine (3 mg, 30 mg) (called FAOW) were prepared. These samples were gamma-irradiated (60Co source, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1.03 kGy/h x 87 h, 1.13 kGy/h x 80 h), then, analyzed using gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after aldnonitrile acetate ester derivatization [11]. We analyzed 3C-6C aldoses. We also prepared without olivine samples (called FAW) as control experiment, and analyzed by same procedures.
Results and Discussion
It was observed that total aldose production tended to be slightly higher in FAOW than in FAW. This trend was particularly significant for pentoses, and only small amounts of hexoses were produced. However, the effect of olivine is currently being verified. The results so far suggest that the olivine acted as a catalyst of formose like reaction. It was likely that produced hexoses were converted into another substances by further reactions (polymerization) such as Maillard reaction [12], thereby decreasing its production.
Conclusion
Previous study with heat [8] suggested that olivine achieved the pH necessary for the reaction and acted as a catalyst. In our study, the amounts of sugars produced were also greater in the presence of olivine samples than in the samples without olivine, suggesting that olivine acted in the same way as in the previous study [8]. We plan to repeat the experiment and quantitatively verify the effect of olivine in the future.
References
[1] Y. Furukawa et al., PNAS, 2019, 116, 24440-24445.
[2] G. Cooper et al., Nature, 2001, 414, 879-883.
[3] G. D. Cody et al., PNAS, 2011, 108, 19171-19176.
[4] T. Koga et al., Scientific reports, 2017, 7, 636.
[5] Y. Kebukawa et al., Science Advances, 2017, 3, e1602093.
[6] W. Elmasry et al., Life, 2021, 11, 32.
[7] A. Omran et al., Life, 2023, 13, 1297.
[8] V. Vinogradoff et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2024, 626, 118558.
[9] Y. Kebukawa et al., ACS Cent. Sci., 2022, 8, 1664-1671.
[10] A. López-Islas et al., Int. J. Astrobiol., 2018, 18, 420-425.
[11] K. Kobayashi et al., Bunseki Kagaku, 1989, 38, 608-612.
[12] V. Vinogradoff et al., Icarus., 2017, 305, 358-370.