Experimental and Computational Study of Amino Acid Synthesis from Acetonitrile and Glycine Oligomers on a Carbonate Surface under UV-C Radiation: Implications for Titan and Early Earth
This study investigates prebiotic chemistry on Titan and Early Earth using experimental methods, including Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), which are relevant for identifying molecular structures and thermal stability of amino acids. Analyses of glycine and acetonitrile with calcium carbonate under UV-C radiation show that glycine oligomers facilitate stable amino acid synthesis. We conclude that Titan’s environment can directly support the formation of life-relevant molecules, revealing a plausible pathway for chemical evolution analogous to that on Early Earth.
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