Multiple formation pathways for amino acids in the early Solar System based on carbon and nitrogen isotopes in asteroid Bennu samples.

ABSTRACT: Samples collected from the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid Bennu and delivered to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission contain organic molecules relevant to prebiotic chemistry. Stable isotopic measurements of extraterrestrial soluble organic matter provide critical insights into the formation pathways and alteration histories of such molecules, which hold significance for understanding the origins of life. We leverage state-of-the-art techniques for picomolar-scale isotopic analyses of amino acids in samples of Bennu and, for comparison, the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. We report intramolecular δ¹³C values for glycine, which have not previously been measured in extraterrestrial materials; molecular-averaged δ¹³C values for amino acids, aldehydes, and ketones; and

SUBMITTER: Baczynski AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12933079 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature