Abstract
The amino acid condensation reaction on a heterogeneous mineral surface has been regarded as one of the important pathways for peptide bond formation. Keeping this in view, we have studied the oligomerization of the simple amino acids, glycine and alanine, on nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4), cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4), copper ferrite (CuFe2O4), zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4), and manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles surfaces, in the temperature range from 50–120 °C for 1–35 days, without applying any wetting/drying cycles. Among the metal ferrites tested for their catalytic activity, NiFe2O4 produced the highest yield of products by oligomerizing glycine to the trimer level and alanine to the dimer level, whereas MnFe2O4 was the least efficient catalyst, producing the lowest yield of products, as well as shorter oligomers of amino acids under the same set of experimental conditions. It produced primarily diketopiperazine (Ala) with a trace amount of alanine dimer from alanine condensation, while glycine was oligomerized to the dimer level. The trend in product formation is in accordance with the surface area of the minerals used. A temperature as low as 50 °C can even favor peptide bond formation in the present study, which is important in the sense that the condensation process is highly feasible without any sort of localized heat that may originate from volcanoes or hydrothermal vents. However, at a high temperature of 120 °C, anhydrides of glycine and alanine formation are favored, while the optimum temperature for the highest yield of product formation was found to be 90 °C.
Highlights
The origin of life can be characterized by an intertwined nexus of biochemical reactions in which a crucial role is being played by proteins
Amino acids are important in biological systems in that they are the building blocks of proteins and are composed of long chains of amino acids
Proteins act as a catalyst in biochemical reactions, but they can be regarded as being instrumental in all cellular processes, and so are the ‘workhorses’ of the cells
Summary
The origin of life can be characterized by an intertwined nexus of biochemical reactions in which a crucial role is being played by proteins. Amino acids are important in biological systems in that they are the building blocks of proteins and are composed of long chains of amino acids. Important catalytic activities (e.g., aminoacylase) and the structural integrity (e.g., transmembrane proteins) of cells are manifested by these proteins; such important catalytic activities being performed by aptly named protein molecules called enzymes. The side chains of amino acids in a secondary structure of proteins can interact and bond in any number of possible ways that come to govern the 3-dimensional (3D) structure of proteins. Proteins act as a catalyst in biochemical reactions, but they can be regarded as being instrumental in all cellular processes, and so are the ‘workhorses’ of the cells. In relation to prebiotic chemical evolution, there is a debate over whether metabolism or genetics came first; the main hypothesis which supports metabolism first is the ‘Protein World Hypothesis’ and
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