Glycine (Gly) is a paradigmatic test case to understand the chemical evolution from interstellar (IS) media to planetary scenarios. On one hand, Gly (NH2CH2COOH) can be considered as a compound with an enhanced complexity compared with the IS complex organic molecules (iCOMs, e.g., NH2CHO) so its formation represents one step beyond with respect to the 0th, 1st and 2nd generation of iCOMs. As a matter of fact, detection of IS Gly has not been firmly confirmed yet. On the other hand, Gly is the simplest protainaceous amino acid and, accordingly, is a fundamental molecular building block to know how biomolecules react and condense to form biopolymers. The life’s pathway of Gly can be roughly elucidated by joining different results obtained from different approaches of investigation. There is clear experimental evidence that it can be formed in laboratories under conditions simulating the IS ones (e.g., UV irradiation of IS ice analogues). Gly has been detected in comets (i.e., 81P/Wild and 67P) and in numerous carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites (e.g., Murchison). Finally, experiments demonstrated that Gly can polymerize in the presence of naturally-occurring minerals. In this contribution, we provide an atomistic interpretation of this Gly life’s pathway by means of quantum chemical simulations, in which the mechanistic steps and related energetics are derived: i) its formation from simple raw materials available in the IS medium, ii) its interaction/retention/protection by cometary and CC materials, and iii) its polymerization catalysed by surface minerals likely present in rocky planetary crusts.

Fate of glycine traced by quantum chemical simulations: From its interstellar formation to its polymerization in planetary environments

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

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