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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH₂CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

ABSTRACT: Glyceric acid [HOCH₂CH(OH)COOH]-the simplest sugar acid-represents a key molecule in biochemical processes vital for metabolism in living organisms such as glycolysis. Although critically linked to the origins of life and identified in carbonaceous meteorites with abundances comparable to amino acids, the underlying mechanisms of its formation have remained elusive. Here, we report the very first abiotic synthesis of racemic glyceric acid via the barrierless radical-radical reaction of the hydroxycarbonyl radical (HOĊO) with 1,2-dihydroxyethyl (HOĊHCH₂OH) radical in low-temperature carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ethylene glycol (HOCH₂CH₂OH) ices. Using isomer-selective vacuum ultraviolet photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry, glyceric acid was identified in the gas phase based on the adiabatic ionization energies and isotopic substitution studies. This work reveals the key reaction pathways for glyceric acid synthesis through nonequilibrium reactions from ubiquitous precursor molecules, advancing our fundamental knowledge of the formation pathways of key biorelevant organics-sugar acids-in deep space.

SUBMITTER: Wang J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10936953 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH<sub>2</sub>CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

Wang Jia J Marks Joshua H JH Fortenberry Ryan C RC Kaiser Ralf I RI

Science advances 20240313 11

Glyceric acid [HOCH<sub>2</sub>CH(OH)COOH]-the simplest sugar acid-represents a key molecule in biochemical processes vital for metabolism in living organisms such as glycolysis. Although critically linked to the origins of life and identified in carbonaceous meteorites with abundances comparable to amino acids, the underlying mechanisms of its formation have remained elusive. Here, we report the very first abiotic synthesis of racemic glyceric acid via the barrierless radical-radical reaction o ...[more]

PMID: 38478624

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Project description:The knowledge of the formation of gas-phase carcinogenic acetonitrile (CH3CN) is limited in interstellar, troposphere, and combustion mediums; thus, its formation and fate are of great importance for all these gas-phase environments when accessing its toxicity and its wide range of applications. In this work, we propose a mechanism for the formation of CH3CN from the reaction of OH/O2 on ethanimine (CH3CH=NH) using ab initio/Density Functional Theory (DFT) potential energy surface in combination with microcanonical variational transition state theory (µVTST) and Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM)/master equation (ME) simulation to predict the rate constants and branching fraction in the temperature range of 100 K to 1000 K and pressure range of 0.0001 bar to 100 bar. The reaction starts with cis (Z) and trans (E) CH3CH=NH isomer with OH radical followed by spontaneous formation via pre-reactive complex, forming the carbon and nitrogen-centered radicals. The O2 radical then attacks the carbon and nitrogen-centered radicals to form acetonitrile (CH3CN) and HO2 radicals. The results show that N-H and C-H dominate the H-atoms abstraction by OH radicals is similar to its isoelectronic analogous reaction system, i.e., CH3CHO + OH/O2 and CH3CHCH2 + OH/O2 and similar to methanimine (CH2NH) systems. The calculated rate constants for OH-initiated oxidation of CH3CH=NH are in the range of ~ 10-11 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 (at 300 K) and are in very good agreement with previous experimental values of its isoelectronic reaction system. The atmospheric lifetime due to the loss of CH3CHNH by OH radical (10 to 11 h) is in very good agreement with the similar pollutants in the troposphere temperature range between 200 and 320 K. The results indicate that its contribution to global warming is negligible. However, the formation of products such as CH3CN may interact with other atmospheric species, which could lead to the production of potentially hazardous compounds such as cyanogen (N2C2) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH₂CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH<sub>2</sub>CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH2CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH<sub>2</sub>CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.

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OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

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Interstellar formation of glyceric acid [HOCH₂CH(OH)COOH]-The simplest sugar acid.