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Comte D, Lavy L, Bertier P, Calvo F, Daniel I, Farizon B, Farizon M, Märk TD. Glycine Peptide Chain Formation in the Gas Phase via Unimolecular Reactions. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:775-780. [PMID: 36630603 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c08248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Peptide chain formation from amino acids such as glycine is a key step in the emergence of life. Unlike their synthesis by living systems, how peptide chains grow under abiotic conditions is an open question given the variety of organic compounds discovered in various astrophysical environments, comets and meteorites. We propose a new abiotic route in the presence of protonated molecular dimers of glycine in a cold gaseous atmosphere without further need for a solid catalytic substrate. The results provide evidence for the preferential formation of mixed protonated dimers of glycine consisting of a dipeptide and a glycine molecule instead of pure protonated glycine dimers. Additional measurements mimicking a cosmic-ray impact in terms of internal excitation show that a single gas-phase collision induces polymerization via dehydration in both the mixed and pure dimer ions. Peptide chain growth is thus demonstrated to occur via a unimolecular gas-phase reaction in an excited cluster ion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Comte
- Université Lyon; Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.,Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Léo Lavy
- Université Lyon; Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Paul Bertier
- Université Lyon; Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Florent Calvo
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS LiPhy, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Isabelle Daniel
- Université Lyon; ENS Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5276, LGL-TPE, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Bernadette Farizon
- Université Lyon; Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Michel Farizon
- Université Lyon; Université Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Tilmann D Märk
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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Barreiro-Lage D, Bolognesi P, Chiarinelli J, Richter R, Zettergren H, Stockett MH, Carlini L, Diaz-Tendero S, Avaldi L. "Smart Decomposition" of Cyclic Alanine-Alanine Dipeptide by VUV Radiation: A Seed for the Synthesis of Biologically Relevant Species. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:7379-7386. [PMID: 34324354 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A combined experimental and theoretical study shows how the interaction of VUV radiation with cyclo-(alanine-alanine), one of the 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs), produces reactive oxazolidinone intermediates. The theoretical simulations reveal that the interaction of these intermediates with other neutral and charged fragments, released in the molecular decomposition, leads either to the reconstruction of the cyclic dipeptide or to the formation of longer linear peptide chains. These results may explain how DKPs could have, on one hand, survived hostile chemical environments and, on the other, provided the seed for amino acid polymerization. Shedding light on the mechanisms of production of such prebiotic building blocks is of paramount importance to understanding the abiotic synthesis of relevant biologically active compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darío Barreiro-Lage
- Departamento de Química, Módulo 13, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Paola Bolognesi
- Institute of Structure of Matter-CNR (ISM-CNR), Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Jacopo Chiarinelli
- Institute of Structure of Matter-CNR (ISM-CNR), Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Robert Richter
- Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Mark H Stockett
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Se-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Laura Carlini
- Institute of Structure of Matter-CNR (ISM-CNR), Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Sergio Diaz-Tendero
- Departamento de Química, Módulo 13, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Science (IAdChem), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorenzo Avaldi
- Institute of Structure of Matter-CNR (ISM-CNR), Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
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