The effects of ferrous and other ions on the abiotic formation of biomolecules using aqueous aerosols and spark discharges.
It has been postulated that the oceans on early Earth had a salinity of 1.5 to 2 times the modern value and a pH between 4 and 10. Moreover, the presence of the banded iron formations shows that Fe(+2) was present in significant concentrations in the primitive oceans. Assuming the hypotheses above, in this work we explore the effects of Fe(+2) and other ions in the generation of biomolecules in prebiotic simulation experiments using spark discharges and aqueous aerosols. These aerosols have been prepared using different sources of Fe(+2), such as FeS, FeCl(2) and FeCO(3), and other salts (alkaline and alkaline earth chlorides and sodium bicarbonate at pH = 5.8). In all these experiments, we observed the formation of some amino acids, carboxylic acids and heterocycles, involved in biological processes. An interesting consequence of the presence of soluble Fe(+2) was the formation of Prussian Blue, Fe(4)[Fe(CN)(6)](3), which has been suggested as a possible reservoir of HCN in the initial prebiotic conditions on the Earth.
Ruiz-Bermejo
M
M
Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas-Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (CSIC-INTA), Centro de Astrobiología, Carretera Torrejón-Ajalvir, Km. 4,2, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain. ruizbm@inta.es
Menor-Salván
C
C
Osuna-Esteban
S
S
Veintemillas-Verdaguer
S
S
D000336:Aerosols / Q000737:chemistry*; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D005295:Ferrocyanides / Q000737:chemistry; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry
D000336:Aerosols; D005295:Ferrocyanides; D005296:Ferrous Compounds; C020354:hexacyanoferrate II