Nitriles prebiotic systems

Polymerisation of HCN species is also possible once the initial monomers have been formed by the reactions with nitrogen HCN polymers have been postulated in many places in the solar system, from the clouds of Jupiter and Saturn to the dark colour of the surface of comet Halley, not to mention its possible role in the formation of the prebiotic molecule adenine. Photolysis of HCN produces CN and then the formation of nitrile polymers ... 

Alternative routes for the prebiotic synthesis of oligo- and polypeptides in aqueous systems, at relatively low temperatures, may well have involved activated monomers like oc-amino nitriles, a-amino amides or amino acyl adenylates. Interesting results were obtained earlier with the first two types of compounds in our laboratory and other laboratories. More recently the amino acyl adenylates, in the presence of montmorillonite and at pH... 

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