Engineering topics

Eschenmoser, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Eschenmoser, A..

4 records

NASA NTRS1999

Formation of glycolaldehyde phosphate from glycolaldehyde in aqueous solution

Amidotriphosphate (0.1 M) in aqueous solution at near neutral pH in the presence of magnesium ions (0.25 M) converts glycolaldehyde (0.025 M) within days at room temperature into glycolaldehyde phosphate in (analytically) nearly quantitative yields (76% in isolated product). This robust phosphorylation process was observed to proceed at concentrations as low as 30 microM glycolaldehyde and 60 microM phosphorylation reagent under otherwise identical conditions. In sharp contrast, attempts to achieve a phosphorylation of glycolaldehyde with cyclotriphosphate ('trimetaphosphate') as phosphorylating reagent were unsuccessful. Mechanistically, the phosphorylation of glycolaldehyde with amidotriphosphate is an example of intramolecular delivery of the phosphate group.

Non-NASA Center↗

NASA NTRS1996

A Search for Interstellar Oxiranecarbonitrile (C3H3NO)

We report a search in cold, quiescent and in 'hot core' type interstellar molecular clouds for the small cyclic molecule oxiranecarbonitrile (C3H3NO), which has been suggested as a precursor of important prebiotic molecules. We have determined upper limits to the column density and fractional abundance for the observed sources and find that, typically, the fractional abundance by number relative to molecular hydrogen Of C3H3NO is less than a few times 10(exp -10). This limit is one to two orders of magnitude less than the measured abundance of such similarly complex species as CH3CH2CN and HCOOCH3 in well-studied hot cores. A number of astrochemical discoveries were made, including the first detection of the species CH3CH2CN in the massive star-forming clouds G34.3+0.2 and W51M and the first astronomical detections of some eight rotational transitions of CH3CH2CN, CH3CCH, and HCOOCH3. In addition, we found 8 emission lines in the 89 GHz region and 18 in the 102 GHz region which we were unable to assign.

Dicken, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Mineral induced formation of sugar phosphates

Glycolaldehyde phosphate, sorbed from highly dilute, weakly alkaline solution into the interlayer of common expanding sheet structure metal hydroxide minerals, condenses extensively to racemic aldotetrose-2, 4-diphophates, and aldohexose-2, 4, 6-triphosphates. The reaction proceeds mainly through racemic erythrose-2, 4-phosphate, and terminates with a large fraction of racemic altrose-2, 4, 6-phosphate. In the absence of an inductive mineral phase, no detectable homogeneous reaction takes place in the concentration- and pH range used. The reactant glycolaldehyde phosphate is practically completely sorbed within an hour from solutions with concentrations as low as 50 micron; the half-time for conversion to hexose phosphates is of the order of two days at room temperature and pH 9.5. Total production of sugar phosphates in the mineral interlayer is largely independent of the glycolaldehyde phosphate concentration in the external solution, but is determined by the total amount of GAP offered for sorption up to the capacity of the mineral. In the presence of equimolar amounts of rac-glyceraldehyde-2-phosphate, but under otherwise similar conditions, aldopentose-2, 4, -diphosphates also form, but only as a small fraction of the hexose-2, 4, 6-phosphates.

Pitsch, S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

[Chemistry of alpha-aminonitriles. Aziridine-2-carbonitrile: photochemical formation from 2-aminopropenenitrile]

2-Aminopropenenitrile in solvents such as MeCN, MeOH, or H2O is photoisomerized by UV light to racemic aziridine-2-carbonitrile (rac-2); the larger part of the starting material, however, fragments to HCN and MeCN. The observed photocyclization constitutes a structural connection within an ensemble of C3H4N2 compounds considered to be potentially relevant to prebiotic chemistry.

NASA Program Exobiology↗