Origin of terrestrial polypeptides: a theory based on data from discharge tube experiments.

Abstract

Polymeric materials derived from HCN have been synthesized from reactants containing only carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, as the solid product formed at high temperature on the walls of a discharge tube, and at room temperature from the gaseous products of that discharge condensed in a cold trap and allowed to warm up in the dark. These compounds were hydrolyzed with acid, and when possible with alkali. Amphoteric molecules were separated from the hydrolysate and examined for amino acids by GLC, after preparation of the TAB derivative. In all cases where nitrogenous solids were hydrolyzed, many natural and a few synthetic amino acids were formed, while blank runs indicated no trace of amino acids under the same treatment. These results have been used to show that many previous experiments in which amino acids have been synthesized from supposed ‘prebiological’ atmospheres have probably all involved the same general reaction steps. (1) Formation of HCN from high-energy reaction of C−H−N(−O) systems. (2) Radical or ionic polymerization or oligomerization of HCN. (3) Hydrolysis of the product.