The Strecker synthesis from interstellar precursors as a source of amino acids in carbonaceous chondrites: Deuterium retention during synthesis

Amino acids in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite are anomalously enriched in deuterium. Synthesis in Strecker reactions from D-enriched interstellar precursors during low temperature aqueous alteration of the parent body has been proposed by Cronin et al. (1988) to account for the isotopic observations. To test this hypothesis, we have measured the retention of deuterium in the glycine, alanine, and alpha-amino isobutyric acid produced, respectively, by reactions of formaldehyde-D2, acetaldehyde-D4, and acetone-D6 with HCN and NH3 in water.