A Prebiotic Synthesis of Pterins

Abstract

The genesis of life on Earth is a hypothesis of evolutionary science that can be, at least partially, tested experimentally. The prebiotic synthesis of cofactors or coenzymes is a poorly explored issue, likely because their formation under plausible prebiotic conditions is not clear. In this sense, it has been proposed that the cofactors are "molecular fossils" of an early phase of life. In contrast, Eschenmoser and Loewenthal suggested a prebiotic hydrocyanic origin of cofactor building blocks. In the present paper, the formation of a set of pterins from cyanide polymerizations is demonstrated, showing that the main structure of some cofactors can be prebiotically formed. Indeed, it was observed that aqueous aerosols additionally increase the relative composition for pterins in the insoluble NH4CN polymers synthesized. The novel identification of pterins in NH4CN polymers, together with the previous detection of other important biomonomers, indicates that cyanide polymerizations were essential in the early state of prebiotic chemistry.

Keywords: HCN polymers; N-heterocycles; aerosols; prebiotic synthesis; pterins.