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Title: Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison meteorite

Abstract

A study of literature reports of the concentrations of amino acids in extracts from the Murchison meteorite shows that many of the concentration ratios are constant. There are two possible interpretations of these ratios. One is that they are controlled by the pathways through which the amino acids formed, from which it follows that the amino acids are distributed in the same proportions throughout the meteorite. The other interpretation is that the ratios result from the analytical procedures used to extract the amino acids from the meteorite. These methods rely heavily on high-temperature (100{degree}C) aqueous extraction and subsequent high-temperature acid hydrolysis. A correlation was observed in the present study between the relative concentrations of several amino acids in the meteorite extracts and their relative aqueous solubilities at 100{degree}C. The extract solutions are dilute, and far from the saturation limits, but these correlations suggest that the sampling procedure affects directly the reported concentrations for these amino acids. If the extraction process does not bias the results, and all extractable amino acids are removed from meteorite samples, then the properties of amino acids which control both their solubilities and their concentrations in the meteorite need to be established. The possibility of samplingmore » bias needs to be tested experimentally before concluding that extraction is complete, and that the constant relative abundances indicate that the relative concentrations of amino acids are homogeneous in the meteorite.« less

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (USA)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
6106097
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 54:11; Journal ID: ISSN 0016-7037
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; AMINO ACIDS; CONCENTRATION RATIO; SOLUBILITY; METEORITES; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; DISSOLUTION; GEOCHEMISTRY; CARBOXYLIC ACIDS; CHEMISTRY; ORGANIC ACIDS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; 580000* - Geosciences

Citation Formats

Shock, E L, and Schulte, M D. Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison meteorite. United States: N. p., 1990. Web. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(90)90131-4.
Shock, E L, & Schulte, M D. Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison meteorite. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(90)90131-4
Shock, E L, and Schulte, M D. 1990. "Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison meteorite". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(90)90131-4.
@article{osti_6106097,
title = {Summary and implications of reported amino acid concentrations in the Murchison meteorite},
author = {Shock, E L and Schulte, M D},
abstractNote = {A study of literature reports of the concentrations of amino acids in extracts from the Murchison meteorite shows that many of the concentration ratios are constant. There are two possible interpretations of these ratios. One is that they are controlled by the pathways through which the amino acids formed, from which it follows that the amino acids are distributed in the same proportions throughout the meteorite. The other interpretation is that the ratios result from the analytical procedures used to extract the amino acids from the meteorite. These methods rely heavily on high-temperature (100{degree}C) aqueous extraction and subsequent high-temperature acid hydrolysis. A correlation was observed in the present study between the relative concentrations of several amino acids in the meteorite extracts and their relative aqueous solubilities at 100{degree}C. The extract solutions are dilute, and far from the saturation limits, but these correlations suggest that the sampling procedure affects directly the reported concentrations for these amino acids. If the extraction process does not bias the results, and all extractable amino acids are removed from meteorite samples, then the properties of amino acids which control both their solubilities and their concentrations in the meteorite need to be established. The possibility of sampling bias needs to be tested experimentally before concluding that extraction is complete, and that the constant relative abundances indicate that the relative concentrations of amino acids are homogeneous in the meteorite.},
doi = {10.1016/0016-7037(90)90131-4},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6106097}, journal = {Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA)},
issn = {0016-7037},
number = ,
volume = 54:11,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1990},
month = {Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1990}
}