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Enantiomeric separation of complex organic molecules produced from irradiation of interstellar/circumstellar ice analogs
- Source :
- Advances in Space Research. 39:400-404
- Publication Year :
- 2007
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2007.
-
Abstract
- Irradiation of interstellar/circumstellar ice analogs by ultraviolet (UV) light followed by warm up in the laboratory leads to the formation of complex organic molecules, stable at room temperature. Hydrolysis of the room temperature residue releases amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. These amino acids exist in two different forms ( l and d ), but proteins encountered in living beings consist exclusively of l enantiomers. The origin of this property, called homochirality, is still unknown. Amino acids can be detected and quantified by chemical techniques such as chiral gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Enantiomers of chiral organics are also known to interact selectively with circularly polarized light (CPL), leading to a selective production or destruction of the final compounds. This paper describes how we settled an experiment where amino acids are formed by irradiation of interstellar/circumstellar ice analogs with ultraviolet (UV) CPL, produced by a synchrotron radiation beamline, which allowed us to quantify the effect of such polarized light on the production of amino acids. These results can be compared to the enantiomeric excesses measured in primitive meteorites such as Murchison.
- Subjects :
- Murchison meteorite
chemistry.chemical_classification
Atmospheric Science
Astrochemistry
Chemistry
Aerospace Engineering
Astronomy and Astrophysics
medicine.disease_cause
Mass spectrometry
Photochemistry
Amino acid
Residue (chemistry)
Geophysics
Space and Planetary Science
medicine
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Homochirality
Enantiomer
Ultraviolet
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 02731177
- Volume :
- 39
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Advances in Space Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........2c648deffb25f27bae3a1a5ce3fe27d9