Aqueous microdroplets enable abiotic synthesis and chain extension of unique peptide isomers from free amino acids.

ABSTRACT: Amide bond formation, the essential condensation reaction underlying peptide synthesis, is hindered in aqueous systems by the thermodynamic constraints associated with dehydration. This represents a key difficulty for the widely held view that prebiotic chemical evolution leading to the formation of the first biomolecules occurred in an oceanic environment. Recent evidence for the acceleration of chemical reactions at droplet interfaces led us to explore aqueous amino acid droplet chemistry. We report the formation of dipeptide isomer ions from free glycine or L-alanine at the air-water interface of aqueous microdroplets emanating from a single spray source (with or without applied potential) during their flight toward the inlet of a mass spectrometer. The proposed isomeric dipeptide ion i

SUBMITTER: Holden DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9586328 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature