title: Alpha-amino acid behaves differently from beta- or gamma-amino acids as treated by trimetaphosphate.
abstract: The condensation reactions of sodium trimetaphosphate with single amino acids, namely glycine, L-alanine, beta-alanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid or pairs of these amino acids were reinvestigated by electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography. It was found when mixtures were treated by sodium trimetaphosphate only in the presence of alpha-amino acid dipeptides were formed. Without addition of alpha-amino acids, the beta-amino acid or gamma-aminobutyric acid could not form peptide either by themselves or with their mixtures under the same conditions. From the data it is concluded that phosphate might select alpha-amino acids to produce the peptides being important precursors for the origin of life.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: P X
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Y F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D011122:Polyphosphates