Setting the geological scene for the origin of life and continuing open questions about its emergence

F Westall, A Brack, AG Fairén… - Frontiers in astronomy and …, 2023 - frontiersin.org
The origin of life is one of the most fundamental questions of humanity. It has been and is
still being addressed by a wide range of researchers from different fields, with different …

Role of mineral surfaces in prebiotic chemical evolution. In silico quantum mechanical studies

A Rimola, M Sodupe, P Ugliengo - Life, 2019 - mdpi.com
There is a consensus that the interaction of organic molecules with the surfaces of naturally-
occurring minerals might have played a crucial role in chemical evolution and …

Ester‐mediated amide bond formation driven by wet–dry cycles: A possible path to polypeptides on the prebiotic earth

JG Forsythe, SS Yu, I Mamajanov… - Angewandte Chemie …, 2015 - Wiley Online Library
Although it is generally accepted that amino acids were present on the prebiotic Earth, the
mechanism by which α‐amino acids were condensed into polypeptides before the …

En route to a heterogeneous catalytic direct peptide bond formation by Zr-based metal–organic framework catalysts

F de Azambuja, A Loosen, D Conic… - Acs …, 2021 - ACS Publications
Peptide bond formation is a challenging, environmentally and economically demanding
transformation. Catalysis is key to circumvent current bottlenecks. To date, many …

The Case of Formic Acid on Anatase TiO2(101): Where is the Acid Proton?

G Tabacchi, M Fabbiani, L Mino, G Martra… - Angewandte …, 2019 - Wiley Online Library
Carboxylic‐acid adsorption on anatase TiO2 is a relevant process in many technological
applications. Yet, despite several decades of investigations, the acid‐proton localization …

Mechanochemical prebiotic peptide bond formation

T Stolar, S Grubešić, N Cindro… - Angewandte Chemie …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
The presence of amino acids on the prebiotic Earth, either stemming from endogenous
chemical routes or delivered by meteorites, is consensually accepted. Prebiotically plausible …

Emergence of Order in Origin-of-Life Scenarios on Mineral Surfaces: Polyglycine Chains on Silica

O El Samrout, M Fabbiani, G Berlier, JF Lambert… - Langmuir, 2022 - ACS Publications
The polymerization of amino acids (AAs) to peptides on oxide surfaces has attracted interest
owing to its high importance in biotechnology, prebiotic chemistry, and origin of life theories …

Tracing the primordial chemical life of glycine: a review from quantum chemical simulations

A Rimola, N Balucani, C Ceccarelli… - International journal of …, 2022 - mdpi.com
Glycine (Gly), NH2CH2COOH, 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 …

How does silica catalyze the amide bond formation under dry conditions? Role of specific surface silanol pairs

A Rimola, M Fabbiani, M Sodupe, P Ugliengo… - ACS …, 2018 - ACS Publications
The mechanism of the amide bond formation between nonactivated carboxylic acids and
amines catalyzed by the surface of amorphous silica under dry conditions is elucidated by …

Adsorption and self-assembly of bio-organic molecules at model surfaces: A route towards increased complexity

D Costa, CM Pradier, F Tielens, L Savio - Surface Science Reports, 2015 - Elsevier
Understanding the bio-physical–chemical interactions at nanostructured biointerfaces and
the assembly mechanisms of so-called hybrid nano-composites is nowadays a key issue for …