Syntheses at Hydrothermal Vents

The first indication of a possible connection between geological processes occurring at the boundaries between tectonic plates of the mid-oceanic ridges and the biogenesis problem was provided by J. B. Corliss (1981). He considered the hydrothermal conditions to be ideal reactors for abiotic synthesis these ideal conditions were the water temperature gradients, the pH, and the concentrations of solutes in the hot springs. The presence of certain minerals which could act as catalysts, such as montmorillonite, clay minerals, iron oxide, sulphides etc., was also very important. The initial model presented for the hydrothermal synthesis of biomolecules (Corliss, 1981) was modified, particularly by Russell (1989) and Wachtershauser (see Sect. 7.3). 

Amino acids Spark Discharge Yields in pM Hydrothermal Reactions Yields in pM 

One of the most important questions in prebiotic chemistry is as follows Which reactions of simple building block molecules are robust enough that they can survive great changes in pressure, temperature, pH and irradiation and still lead to more complex systems  

The authors chose pyruvic acid as their model compound this C3 molecule plays a central role in the metabolism of living cells. It was recently synthesized for the first time under hydrothermal conditions (Cody et al., 2000). Hazen and Deamer carried out their experiments at pressures and temperatures similar to those in hydrothermal systems (but not chosen to simulate such systems). The non-enzymatic reactions, which took place in relatively concentrated aqueous solutions, were intended to identify the subsequent self-selection and self-organisation potential of prebiotic molecular species. A considerable series of complex organic molecules was tentatively identified, such as methoxy- or methyl-substituted methyl benzoates or 2, 3, 4-trimethyl-2-cyclopenten-l-one, to name only a few. In particular, polymerisation products of pyruvic acid, and products of consecutive reactions such as decarboxylation and cycloaddition, were observed the expected tar fraction was not found, but water-soluble components were found as well as a chloroform-soluble fraction. The latter showed similarities to chloroform-soluble compounds from the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite (Hazen and Deamer, 2007). 

Aminosauren Funkenentladungen Ausbeuten in. lM Hydrotherm ale Reaktionen Ausbeuten in. lM AU Please translate the Table 7.1. The 

Hazen and Deamer looked at the chemical and physical properties of the end products of hypothetical prebiotic reactions carried out under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, for example in CCh-rich regions of hydrothermal vents. The results of laboratory experiments indicate that prebiotic syntheses leading to a variety of products could have occurred in hydrothermal systems some of these have amphiphilic properties, and would have been capable of self-organisation processes. 

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