Abstract
Glycine crystallizes into three different polymorphs called α, β and γ under standard physicochemical conditions. They have different features depending on their structural variations. The possible interaction of glycine with magnetic minerals in meteorites and comets or in the ancient Earth, paves the way to study the self-assembly and molecular behavior under irradiation and magnetic conditions. The magnetic field might induce the formation of a specific polymorph of glycine. To gain insight on the consequences of gamma irradiation with a gradient of static magnetic fields (0.06 T, 0.3 T, 0.42 T and 0.6 T) on the self-assembly of single macroscopic glycine crystals, we gamma irradiated the powdered amino acid and then assembled single crystals from water solutions. The preliminary results showed a stable formation of fluid inclusions in the single crystals and no straightforward effect on the self-assem- bly process after glycine gamma irradiation and interaction with static magnetic fields. The α glycine polymorph single crystals formed at 55° from the magnetic longitudinal axis and seemed to be enhanced by gamma radiation. The γ-glycine single crystals presented L and D circular dichroism signals, whereas the irradiated samples presented no circular dichroism bands. Com- puter simulations suggest different catalytic properties from α and γ glycine crystals.
Highlights
How life originated is not known but the assumptions exist from different points of view [1]
In this first approach with static magnetic fields, we observed the formation of the two polymorphs of glycine crystals in the analysis of the FTIR and the second derivatives
By means of the polarized light microscopy, we detected long lasting fluid inclusions in the crystals of glycine (Figure 5 and Figure 6), the static magnetic field has no straightforward consequences on this process
Summary
How life originated is not known but the assumptions exist from different points of view [1]. From the scientific point of view, some molecules such as amino acids are essentials for life, since they are the molecules that make up proteins. They are indispensable units in studies related to chemical evolution [2]. The α-glycine single crystals are the easiest to obtain [25] possessing magnetic susceptibility. For these physicochemical properties, the description of the stability of the fluid inclusions in glycine is relevant for prebiotic chemistry [24] [28]-[43]. EPR signal gives different structural properties in systems with free radicals interacting with the magnetic field such as the g-tensor value (strength against the movement of the electron in the magnetic field) or the hyperfine coupling
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