Complex Nitrogen Heterocycles in Aqueous Cyanide and Formaldehyde Reac- Tions: Implications for Meteoritic and Prebiotic Chemistry
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46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2015) 1444.pdf COMPLEX NITROGEN HETEROCYCLES IN AQUEOUS CYANIDE AND FORMALDEHYDE REAC- TIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR METEORITIC AND PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY. M.P. Callahan1 and H.J. Cleaves II2,3,4,5, 1NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, 2Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan, 3Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540, 4Blue Marble Space Institute for Science, Washington, DC 20008, 5Center for Chemical Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technol- ogy, Atlanta, GA 30332. Email: [email protected] Introduction: Carbonaceous chondrites contain a known nitrogen heterocycles in carbonaceous chon- plethora of indigenous organic compounds, including drites were closely monitored in our laboratory sam- those of biological significance. There is strong evi- ples. dence that purine nucleobases and their structural ana- logs detected in carbonaceous chondrites were formed from hydrogen cyanide (HCN) chemistry [1]. Addi- tionally, formaldehyde (H2CO) appears to be a major contributor to carbonaceous chondrite organic material based on the detection of numerous polyhydroxylated compounds (e.g., sugars, sugar alcohols, and sugar acids) [2] and similarities between the insoluble or- ganic matter (IOM) and H2CO polymers [3]. The presence of both HCN and H2CO in carbonaceous chondrites is intriguing because previous studies have suggested that H2CO interferes with HCN oligomeriza- tion (the so-called “Miller Paradox”) [4]. Here, we investigated whether the synthesis of ni- trogen heterocycles (particularly those found in carbo- naceous chondrites) is robust in aqueous reactions con- Fig 1: Photograph of aqueous reactions containing taining various concentrations of ammonium cyanide various concentrations of ammonium cyanide (NH CN) and H CO. Notably, Schwartz and co- 4 2 (NH4CN) and formaldehyde (H2CO). At sufficiently workers first examined this type of chemistry in the high NH4CN concentrations (>0.1 M), the solution is 1980s; however, their experiments were conducted black and a black precipitate forms. The addition of using a very limited range of conditions [5,6]. Thus, H2CO alters the appearance and pH dramatically. we prepared a large set of laboratory reactions (Fig. 1) and analyzed this set without additional sample prepa- Results and Discussion: ration using a direct analysis in real-time (DART) ion DART mass spectrometry: DART mass spectra of source coupled to a high resolution, accurate mass lin- solutions containing 2 M NH4CN with various H2CO ear ion trap-orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer for concentrations are displayed in Fig. 2. The mass spec- rapid qualitative analyses of nitrogen heterocycles and tra are complex although this is not readily apparent other low molecular weight organic compounds. due to normalization of the relative abundance scale Analytical techniques and samples: Ammonium (and the figure size). Mass peaks at m/z 136.0614 cyanide (0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 M) and (C5H6N5) and m/z 166.0719 (C6H8N5O) were identified formaldehyde (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and as adenine and 8-hydroxymethyladenine, respectively, 5.0 M) solutions were prepared, transferred to am- based on accurate mass and comparison of its product poules, and flame-sealed with minimal headspace un- ion spectra with reference standards. The mass peak at der air. Samples were stored in the dark at room tem- m/z 196.0626 (C7H10N5O2) appears to be dihy- perature for >6 months. The ampoules were opened droxymethyl-substituted adenine; however, we are and the liquid portion (5 µL x 2) was individually spot- conducting further measurements to confirm its exact ted on a stainless steel mesh for sample analysis. A structure. In addition, we measured mass peaks that Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap XL hybrid mass spec- would correspond to substituted purines in this concen- trometer equipped with an IonSense DART ion source tration series (as well as throughout the entire sample was used for analyses (typical mass error <1.0 ppm). set). Molecular formulae were calculated from observed Additional compounds were identified based on masses assuming the following possible range of ele- their elemental composition in conjunction with prior 14 16 12 mental compositions of N 0-10, O 0-15, C 0-30, reports of these compounds synthesized in similar and 1H 0-60. Molecular formulae corresponding to 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2015) 1444.pdf chemical reactions [7]. For example, guanidine and its did not detect 8-hydroxymethyladenine in carbona- non-covalent dimer (m/z 60.0553 and 119.1036) and ceous chondrites during our previous studies [1]. It is urea (m/z 61.0393) were measured in the three samples conceivable that 8-hydroxymethyladenine is trans- shown in Fig. 2. Hexamethylenetetramine (HMT, m/z formed to adenine during our meteorite work-up (using 141.1133), a condensation product of H2CO and NH3, formic acid) or prolonged periods of aqueous alteration was also measured in multiple samples usually where on the meteorite parent body; however further investi- [H2CO] > [NH4CN]. gations are needed. Fig 2: DART mass spectra of solutions with 2 M NH4CN and different concentrations of H2CO. Mass spectra are normalized to the most intense peak in this set. Blue boxes highlight mass peaks corresponding to assigned nitrogen heterocycles. DART-MS can be used to rapidly screen for nitro- gen heterocycles in a large sample set. We generated 3D surface plots using [NH4CN], [H2CO], and mass spectral signal intensity in order to evaluate the pro- duction of nitrogen heterocycles under a wide range of conditions. For example, 3D surface plots for adenine and 8-hydroxymethyladenine are shown in Fig. 3. It appears that the synthesis of 8-hydroxymethyladenine is favored over adenine in the presence of H2CO, which is consistent with previous observations by Schwartz and Bakker [6]. Finally, it is worth mention- ing that we have highlighted only a few interesting Fig 3: 3D surface plots for selected nitrogen heterocy- observations from our very large dataset due to space cles. 8-hydroxymethyladenine can be synthesized un- limitations here. der a wider range of concentrations compared to ade- Implications for Meteoritic and Prebiotic Chemis- nine, which suggests a more robust synthesis in aque- try: We conclude that relatively complex nitrogen het- ous cyanide/formaldehyde reactions. erocycles can be synthesized from very simple aqueous reactions, which may have occurred on meteorite par- References: [1] Callahan M. P. et al. (2011) PNAS, ent bodies and early Earth. A significant finding of our 108, 13995-13998. [2] Cooper G. et al. (2001) Nature, 414, work is that H2CO does not entirely inhibit HCN (oli- 879-883. [3] Cody G. D. et al. (2011) PNAS, 108, 19171- gomerization) chemistry, and in fact enhances the yield 19176. [4] Schlesinger G. & Miller S. L. (1973) J. Am. of nitrogen heterocycles. Furthermore, this combina- Chem. Soc., 95, 3729-3735. [5] Schwartz A. W. & Goverde tion opens novel reaction pathways which allow for M. (1982) J. Mol. Evol., 18, 351-353. [6] Schwartz A. W. & significant diversification of the reaction products (for Bakker C. G. (1989) Science, 245, 1102-1104. [7] Ruiz- example, we analyzed these reactions for amino acids Bermejo M. et al. (2013) Life, 3, 421-448. [8] Robertson M. which will be published in a separate study). Other P. et al. (1996) J. Mol. Evol., 43, 543-550. low molecular weight compounds such as guanidine and urea are easily synthesized in these reactions and may be important for prebiotic chemistry because they can react with cyanoacetaldehyde to eventually pro- duce uracil and cytosine [8]. Finally, we note that we .