Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations
Glycine (Gly), NH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>COOH, is the simplest amino acid. Although it has not been directly detected in the interstellar gas-phase medium, it has been identified in comets and meteorites, and its synthesis in these environments has been simulated in terrest...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/8/4252 |
| _version_ | 1797445980486893568 |
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| author | Albert Rimola Nadia Balucani Cecilia Ceccarelli Piero Ugliengo |
| author_facet | Albert Rimola Nadia Balucani Cecilia Ceccarelli Piero Ugliengo |
| author_sort | Albert Rimola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Glycine (Gly), NH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>COOH, is the simplest amino acid. Although it has not been directly detected in the interstellar gas-phase medium, it has been identified in comets and meteorites, and its synthesis in these environments has been simulated in terrestrial laboratory experiments. Likewise, condensation of Gly to form peptides in scenarios resembling those present in a primordial Earth has been demonstrated experimentally. Thus, Gly is a paradigmatic system for biomolecular building blocks to investigate how they can be synthesized in astrophysical environments, transported and delivered by fragments of asteroids (meteorites, once they land on Earth) and comets (interplanetary dust particles that land on Earth) to the primitive Earth, and there react to form biopolymers as a step towards the emergence of life. Quantum chemical investigations addressing these Gly-related events have been performed, providing fundamental atomic-scale information and quantitative energetic data. However, they are spread in the literature and difficult to harmonize in a consistent way due to different computational chemistry methodologies and model systems. This review aims to collect the work done so far to characterize, at a quantum mechanical level, the chemical life of Gly, i.e., from its synthesis in the interstellar medium up to its polymerization on Earth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:33:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e60d75bcefc94f17a3464384aebfe323 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:33:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-e60d75bcefc94f17a3464384aebfe3232023-11-30T21:15:14ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-04-01238425210.3390/ijms23084252Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical SimulationsAlbert Rimola0Nadia Balucani1Cecilia Ceccarelli2Piero Ugliengo3Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Catalonia, SpainDipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, 06123 Perugia, ItalyCNRS, Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, FranceDipartimento di Chimica and Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces (NIS) Centre, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, ItalyGlycine (Gly), NH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>COOH, is the simplest amino acid. Although it has not been directly detected in the interstellar gas-phase medium, it has been identified in comets and meteorites, and its synthesis in these environments has been simulated in terrestrial laboratory experiments. Likewise, condensation of Gly to form peptides in scenarios resembling those present in a primordial Earth has been demonstrated experimentally. Thus, Gly is a paradigmatic system for biomolecular building blocks to investigate how they can be synthesized in astrophysical environments, transported and delivered by fragments of asteroids (meteorites, once they land on Earth) and comets (interplanetary dust particles that land on Earth) to the primitive Earth, and there react to form biopolymers as a step towards the emergence of life. Quantum chemical investigations addressing these Gly-related events have been performed, providing fundamental atomic-scale information and quantitative energetic data. However, they are spread in the literature and difficult to harmonize in a consistent way due to different computational chemistry methodologies and model systems. This review aims to collect the work done so far to characterize, at a quantum mechanical level, the chemical life of Gly, i.e., from its synthesis in the interstellar medium up to its polymerization on Earth.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/8/4252astrochemistryprebiotic chemistryinterstellar grainsprimitive Earthcomputational chemistrysurface modelling |
| spellingShingle | Albert Rimola Nadia Balucani Cecilia Ceccarelli Piero Ugliengo Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations International Journal of Molecular Sciences astrochemistry prebiotic chemistry interstellar grains primitive Earth computational chemistry surface modelling |
| title | Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations |
| title_full | Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations |
| title_fullStr | Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations |
| title_short | Tracing the Primordial Chemical Life of Glycine: A Review from Quantum Chemical Simulations |
| title_sort | tracing the primordial chemical life of glycine a review from quantum chemical simulations |
| topic | astrochemistry prebiotic chemistry interstellar grains primitive Earth computational chemistry surface modelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/8/4252 |
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