BIO-ORGANIC CHEMISTRY QUARTERLY REPORT. December 1961, January and February 1962
Progress is reported in investigations on the polymerization of formaldehyde, ultraviolet irradiation of aqueous HC/sup 14/N, radiation chemistry of nucleic acid constituents, oxidation of free sugars and aldonic acid derivatives by Acetobacter suboxydans, preparation and isolation of C/sup 14/O/ sub 2/~ enzyme, metabolism of C/sup 14/-ribulose diphosphate by Nitrobacter agilis, C/sup 14/O/sub 2/ metabolism of Hordeum valgare seedlings during the development of the photosynthetic apparatus, location and chemical characterization of RNA in the chloroplasts of Spinacea oleracea, inhibition of dark bleaching by stroma extracts and by inert gases, ESR studies on chromatophores from Rhodospirillium rubrum and on quantasomes from spinach chloroplasts, and phthalocyanine manganese and etioporphyrin manganese complexes. (J.R.D.) It has been known for a hundred years that formaldehyde polymerizes to carbohydrate substances in alkaline media. Although the reaction has long attracted much attention, only recently has a detailed qualitative analysis of the products been carried out by chromatographic methods. We have started to re-examine this reaction by combining chromatography with radioactive tracer techniques in the hope of refining the quantitative aspects of the analysis. Our particular interest has been to develop methods for determining the relative proportions of ribose and ribulose in the mixtures of sugars formed in basic media, as well as under other polymerizing conditions. The finding of large amounts of these sugars might help to explain the occurrence of ribose as the only basic sugar in the fundamental replicating molecules--the nucleic acids. Formaldehyde is thought to have been present in the primitive reducing atmosphere which existed before life first appeared. The ribonucleic acids must have appeared in the constitution of reproducing systems at a very early stage in the development of living organisms. In this study, the polymerizations of formaldehyde were carried out in calcium hydroxide suspensions at 40{sup o}. Aliquots of the reaction mixtures were withdrawn at after various time intervals and the alkali was neutralized with sulfuric acid or, in later experiments, with carbon dioxide. The hydrolysis with sulfuric acid that was used initially to break down any polymers was shown to be unnecessary, as identical products were obtained with this treatment and with simple carbon dioxide neutralization.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); California. Univ., Berkeley. Dept. of Chemistry
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-eng-48; DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 928893
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-10156; TRN: US200812%%562
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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