title: Effect of temperature on the adsorption of adenine.
abstract: Equilibrium adsorption isotherms for the purine base adenine on the surface of graphite crystals have been obtained at 30, 40, 50, and 60 degrees C by frontal analysis using water as a mobile phase. These data were fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model and interpreted in terms of the well-characterized adsorbate monolayer structure. A van't Hoff plot was used to estimate the adsorption enthalpy, -delta H degree which we determined to be 20 kJ mol-1. The susceptibility of nucleic acid bases to aqueous-phase hydrolysis may have been a limiting feature for their inclusion in the primordial genetic architecture; our results suggest that the effects of temperature and the presence of inorganic solids must also be included when assessing the prebiotic availability of adenine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Sowerby
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mörth
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Holm
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry*; D000327:Adsorption; D018559:Exobiology; D006108:Graphite; D008956:Models, Chemical; D000069497:Origin of Life; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D006108:Graphite; D000225:Adenine