Survivability and abiotic reactions of selected amino acids in different hydrothermal system simulators

Orig Life Evol Biosph. 2013 Apr;43(2):99-108. doi: 10.1007/s11084-013-9330-9. Epub 2013 Apr 28.

Abstract

We tested the stability and reaction of several amino acids using hydrothermal system simulators: an autoclave and two kinds of flow reactors at 200-250 °C. This study generally showed that there is a variation in the individual amino acids survivability in the simulators. This is mainly attributed to the following factors; heat time, cold quenching exposure, metal ions and also silica. We observed that, in a rapid heating flow reactor, high aggregation and/or condensation of amino acids could occur even during a heat exposure of 2 min. We also monitored their stability in a reflow-type of simulator for 120 min at 20 min intervals. The non-hydrolyzed and hydrolyzed samples for this system showed a similar degradation only in the absence of metal ions.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / chemistry*
  • Biochemistry / instrumentation
  • Equipment Design
  • Hydrolysis
  • Ions / chemistry
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Ions
  • Silicon Dioxide