Amplification of enantiomeric concentrations under credible prebiotic conditions.

Breslow, Ronald; Levine, Mindy S · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2006

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Solutions with as little as 1% enantiomeric excess (ee) of D- or L-phenylalanine are amplified to 90% ee (a 95/5 ratio) by two successive evaporations to precipitate the racemate. Such a process on the prebiotic earth could lead to a mechanism by which meteoritic chiral alpha-alkyl amino acids could form solutions with high ee values that were needed for the beginning of biology.

Medical subject headings