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Keto-acids in Carbonaceous MeteoritesThe Murchison and Murray meteorites are the best-characterized carbonaceous meteorites with respect to organic chemistry and are generally used as references for organic compounds in extraterrestrial material. Among the classes of organic compounds found in these meteorites are amino acids, carboxylic acids, hydroxy acids, purines, and pyrimidines. Such compounds, important in contemporary biochemistry, are thought to have been delivered to the early Earth in asteroids and comets and may have played a role in early life and/or the origin of life. Absent among (today's) critically important biological compounds reported in carbonaceous meteorites are keto acids, i.e., pyruvic acid, acetoacetic acid, and higher homologs. These compounds are key intermediates in such critical processes as glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. In this study several individual meteoritic keto acids were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (see figure below). All compounds were identified as their trimethylsilyl (TMS), isopropyl ester (ISP), and tert-butyldimethylsilyl (tBDMS) derivatives. In general, the compounds follow the abiotic synthesis pattern of other known meteorite classes of organic compounds [1,2]: a general decrease in abundance with increasing carbon number within a class of compounds and many, if not all, possible isomers present at a given carbon number. The majority of the shown compounds was positively identified by comparison of their mass spectra to commercially available standards or synthesized standards.
Document ID
20050167193
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cooper, G. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Chang, P. M. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Dugas, A. (Southern Univ. Baton Rouge, LA, United States)
Byrd, A. (Spelman Coll. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Chang, P. M. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Washington, N. (Gallaudet Coll. Washington, DC, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 3
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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IDRelationTitle20050167124Collected WorksLunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 3
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