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Chirality in Organic and Mineral Systems: A Review of Reactivity and Alteration Processes Relevant to Prebiotic Chemistry and Life Detection MissionsChirality is a central feature in the evolution of biological systems, but the reason for biology’s strong preference for specific chiralities of amino acids, sugars, and other molecules remains a controversial and unanswered question in origins of life research. Biological polymers tend toward homochiral systems, which favor the incorporation of a single enantiomer (molecules with a specific chiral configuration) over the other. There have been numerous investigations into the processes that preferentially enrich one enantiomer to understand the evolution of an early, racemic, prebiotic organic world. Chirality can also be a property of minerals; their interaction with chiral organics is important for assessing how post-depositional alteration processes could affect the stereochemical configuration of simple and complex organic molecules. In this paper, we review the properties of organic compounds and minerals as well as the physical, chemical, and geological processes that affect organic and mineral chirality during the preservation and detection of organic compounds. We provide perspectives and discussions on the reactions and analytical techniques that can be performed in the laboratory, and comment on the state of knowledge of flight-capable technologies in current and future planetary missions, with a focus on organics analysis and life detection.
Document ID
20220000060
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Authors
Carina Lee
(Universities Space Research Association Columbia, Maryland, United States)
Jessica M. Weber ORCID
(Jet Propulsion Lab La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States)
Laura E. Rodriguez ORCID
(Jet Propulsion Lab La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States)
Rachel Y. Sheppard ORCID
(Jet Propulsion Lab La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States)
Laura M. Barge
(Jet Propulsion Lab La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States)
Eve L. Berger ORCID
(Texas State University San Marcos, Texas, United States)
Aaron S. Burton ORCID
(Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas, United States)
Date Acquired
January 18, 2022
Publication Date
February 24, 2022
Publication Information
Publication: Symmetry
Publisher: MDPI
Volume: 14
Issue: 13
Issue Publication Date: March 1, 2022
e-ISSN: 2073-8994
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Chemistry And Materials (General)
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 811073
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NM0018D0004
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
Single Expert
Keywords
chirality
homochirality
origins of life
organics
minerals
biosignatures
life detection
prebiotic chemistry
enantiomeric excess
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