Formamide-based prebiotic chemistry

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Formamide-based prebiotic chemistry is a reconstruction of the beginnings of life on Earth, assuming that

molecules.[1]

biomolecules, and is a ubiquitous molecule in the universe.[2] Formamide has been detected in galactic centers,[3][4] star-forming regions of dense molecular clouds,[5] high-mass young stellar objects,[6] the interstellar medium,[7] comets,[8][9][10] and satellites.[11] In particular, dense clouds containing formamide, with sizes on the order of kiloparsecs, have been observed in the vicinity of the Solar System.[5]

biogenic molecules.[14] Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations suggest that formamide could be a key intermediate of the Miller–Urey experiment as well.[15]

The combinatorial power of

energy barriers, thus allowing the production of different classes of potentially prebiotic compounds. Formamide fulfils all these requirements and, due to its significantly higher boiling point (210 °C), enables chemical synthesis in a much broader temperature range than water.[1][23]

Prebiotic chemistry

Current living forms on

sulphur
, and by other elements.

Given the overwhelming variety of the chemically conceivable

organic molecules has raised questions how and which different reaction pathways could have plausibly lead to the synthesis of pre-biological molecules
on the primordial Earth. These are the main objectives of prebiotic chemistry research.

Precursor of biogenic molecules

Figure 1. Relationship between formamide and other prebiotic feedstock molecules, such as HCN and ammonium formate.[1]
Figure 1. Relationship between formamide and other prebiotic feedstock molecules, such as HCN and ammonium formate(NH4+HCOO−).[1]

Figure 1 summarizes the basic chemistry of formamide and its chemical connection with HCN and ammonium formate (NH4+HCOO−), considering selected examples of preparative and degradative reactions.[1]

The synthesis of

alumina
(Al2O3).

In addition to

iron sulphide minerals,[32] zirconium minerals,[33] borate minerals,[34] or numerous materials of meteoritic origin [26][27] encompassing iron, stony-iron, chondrites, and achondrites meteorites
.

Various energy sources, including thermal energy,

non-equilibrium chemical events that led to the emergence of more and more complex species from formamide on the early Earth.[23][38]

For each studied combination of

carboxylic acids.[1] The highest level of complexity was attained for the formamide/meteorite system,[27] using proton irradiation as the energy source, where the one-pot synthesis of four nucleosides (uridine, cytidine, adenosine, thymidine) was observed.[26] So far, no other one-carbon atom compound has shown the versatility of products that can be formed from formamide under plausible prebiotic conditions in a one-pot chemistry (see Figure 2).[39]

Figure 2. Main prebiotic building blocks that can be synthesized from formamide under plausible prebiotic conditions.[1]
Figure 2. Main prebiotic building blocks that can be synthesized from formamide under plausible prebiotic conditions.[1],[26]

In addition to its dual function of

oligomers.[42] This is the reason why formamide is considered a plausible medium for prebiotic phosphorylation reactions also in the “discontinuous synthesis” scenario of the origin of life.[43][44] As well as phosphorylation, formamide has been shown to be a competent medium for the production of amino acid derivatives from their simple aldehyde and nitrile precursors, demonstrating that water is not the only solvent that this process can occur in. [45]
Most notably, formamide provides a medium for the prebiotic synthesis of cysteine derivatives, not considered previously considered plausible in strictly aqueous prebiotic environments.

References

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  22. ^ Oparin, A.I. (1924). The Origin of Life. Moscow: Moscow Worker Publisher.
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  39. ^ "Inventory of papers related to formamide in prebiotic chemistry". DSDNA/IBP.
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