Interactions of Clay Minerals with RNA Components

Abstract

Because of their extensive surface area, layer structure, and surface charge characteristics, clay minerals can take up a wide range and variety of organic molecules. Further, clay minerals can shield these molecules from cosmic and ultraviolet radiation, and catalyze their polymerization. For these reasons, clay minerals might have played an important role in chemical evolution and the origins of life on Earth. The proposal that ribonucleic acid (RNA) can act as both a storehouse of genetic information and an enzyme-like catalyst in the primordial Earth, has stimulated research into the ability of clay minerals to catalyze the formation of RNA from its (activated) monomers. After outlining the probable role of clay minerals in chemical evolution and the origins of life, and summarizing clay minerals structures, we describe the interactions of clay minerals with nucleic acid bases, nucleosides, nucleotides, polynucleotides, and nucleic acids. These interactions are illustrated by selective experimental results from our laboratory and the literature.