title: The role of self-assembled monolayers of the purine and pyrimidine bases in the emergence of life.
abstract: The experimental evidence for the spontaneous formation and structure determination of two-dimensional monolayers of the purine and pyrimidine bases is examined. The plausibility of such structures forming spontaneously at the solid-liquid interface following their prebiotic synthesis suggests a functional role for them in the emergence of life. It is proposed that prebiotic interactions of enantiomorphic monolayers of mixed base composition with racemic amino acids might be implicated in a simultaneous origin of a primitive genetic coding mechanism and biomolecular homochirality. The interactions of these monolayers with carbohydrates and other derivatives is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sowerby
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Heckl
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D004563:Electrochemistry; D005815:Genetic Code; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling; D008903:Minerals; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011119:Polynucleotides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011687:Purines / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013499:Surface Properties; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D008903:Minerals; D011119:Polynucleotides; D011687:Purines; D011743:Pyrimidines