On the Ability of Formaldehyde to Act as a Tethering Catalyst in Water

The low concentration issue is a fundamental challenge when it comes to prebiotic chemistry, as macromolecular systems need to be assembled via intermolecular reactions, and this is inherently difficult in dilute solutions. This is especially true when the reactions are challenging, and reactions th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Origins of life and evolution of biospheres 2017-12, Vol.47 (4), p.405-412
Main Authors: Jamshidi, Mohammad P., MacDonald, Melissa J., Beauchemin, André M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aldehydes
Astronomy
Astrophysics and Astroparticles
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Catalysis
Catalysts
Chemistry
Earth Sciences
Evolution
Evolution, Chemical
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde - chemistry
Hydration
Life Sciences
Macromolecules
Observations and Techniques
Prebiotic Chemistry
Prebiotics
Water
Water - chemistry
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Summary:The low concentration issue is a fundamental challenge when it comes to prebiotic chemistry, as macromolecular systems need to be assembled via intermolecular reactions, and this is inherently difficult in dilute solutions. This is especially true when the reactions are challenging, and reactions that proceeded more rapidly could have dictated chemical evolution. Herein we establish that formaldehyde is capable of catalyzing, via temporary intramolecularity, a challenging reaction in water at low concentrations, thus providing an alternative to other approaches that can either lead to higher concentrations or higher effective molarities.
ISSN:0169-6149
1573-0875
DOI:10.1007/s11084-017-9538-1