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Lunar fines and a chip from inside a rock pyrolyzed in helium at 700 degrees C gave methane, other gases, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Benzene/methanol extracts of fines yielded traces of high molecular weight alkanes and sulfur. Traces of glycine, alanine, ethanolamine, and urea were found in aqueous extracts. Biological controls and a terrestrial rock, dunite, subjected to exhaust from the lunar module descent engine showed a different amino acid distribution. Interpretation of the origin of the carbon compounds requires extreme care, because of possible contamination acquired during initial sample processing.

The mass spectra of a series of 2-substituted 8-hydroxyquinolines and related compounds are reported. Fragmentation pathways based upon interpretation of spectra and metastable transitions for 8-quinolinol; 2-methyl-8-quinolinol; 4-methyl-8quinolinol; 2-hydroxymethyl-8-quinolinol; 2-aminomethyl-8-quinolinol; 8-quinolinol-2-carboxaldehyde; 8-quinolinol-2-carb-oxaldehyde oxime; and 8-quinolinol-2-carboxaldehyde tert-butylimine are discussed, as are dissociations in the related compounds 2-hydroxymethyl quinoline and quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde oxime. It is suggested that the molecular ions of 2-substituted-8-quinolinols undergo rearrangement to a substituted azatropylium ion prior to dissociation. An ion of m/e 89 has been observed in these spectra and is considered to be characteristic of the quinoline nucleus bearing an X-substituent in any position, where X OR, SR, NH2 etc. (R H, CH3, etc).

The mass spectra of various ring-substituted salicylic acids and derivatives thereof have been examined. Fragmentation pathways for derivatives of salicylic acid; 3-NO2 salicylic acid; 5-I salicylic acid; 3-NO2, 5-I salicylic acid; and 3-NH2, 5-I salicylic acid are suggested. The major dissociations of these compounds are by elimination of the elements of neutral molecules, e.g. water, methanol, ketene (from the acetylated compounds) carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, leading to (iodo) phenoxy and (iodo) quinone type ion structures. These ions further decompose to yield the corresponding substituted cyclopentadienyl and cyclopropylium ions.

Carbon compounds in Apollo 12 lunar fines and core samples, using pyrolysis, mass spectrometry, ion exchange chromatography and optical and electron microscopy

The mass spectra of all possible methyl substituted derivatives of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl-4, 4′-dihydroxy-diphenylmethane are recorded. The direct influence of steric hindrance to free rotation about the aryl-methylene bonds results in the progressive importance of ortho-rearrangement in the ionization-dissociation pathways of these compounds.

CARBONACEOUS matter and microstructures of unknown origin in the oldest known sedimentary rocks (part of the Onverwacht Series in South Africa

Are they entrapped solar wind particles, meteoritic or cometary contributions, remnants of a primordial atmosphere or products of the degassing of the Moon ?

A homologous series of n -alkanes (C 14 –C 33 ) and two isoprenoid hydrocarbons, 2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane (phytane) and 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane (pristane) have been identified in bovine liver. Another branched but non-isoprenoid alkane and three isomers of molecular formula C 20 H 40 were partially identified. Phytane and the C 18 –C 22 and C 29 –C 33 n -alkanes were found to be the major components in liver, suggesting that at least the main hydrocarbon components were derived from various plants in the diet. The hydrocarbons were separated and identified by a series of steps involving solvent extraction, saponification, elution chromatography on alumina and silica gel columns, molecular sieving and by infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy, followed by combined capillary gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.