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Extraterrestrial Amino Acids in the Almahata Sitta MeteoriteAmino acid analysis of a meteorite fragment of asteroid 2008 TC(sub 3) called Almahata Sitta was carried out using reverse-phase high-perfo rmance liquid chromatography coupled with UV fluorescence detection a nd time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-FD/ToF-MS) as part of a sam ple analysis consortium. HPLC analyses of hot-water extracts from the meteorite revealed a complex distribution of two- to six-carbon aliph atic amino acids and one- to three carbon amines with abundances rang ing from 0.5 to 149 parts-per-billion (ppb). The enantiomeric ratios of the amino acids alanine, Beta-amino-n-butyric acid (Beta-ABA), 2-amino-2- methylbutanoic acid (isovaline), and 2-aminopentanoic acid (no rvaline) in the meteorite were racemic (D/L approximately 1), indicat ing that these amino acids are indigenous to the meteorite and not te rrestrial contaminants. Several other non-protein amino acids were also identified in the meteorite above background levels including alpha -aminoisobutyric acid (alpha-AIB), 4-amino-2- methybutanoic acid, 4-a mino-3-methylbutanoic acid, and 3-, 4-, and 5-aminopentanoic acid. Th e total abundances of isovaline and AlB in Almahata Sitta are approximately 1000 times lower than the abundances of these amino acids found in the CM carbonaceous meteorite Murchison. The extremely love abund ances and unusual distribution of five carbon amino acids in Almahata Sitta compared to Cl, CM, and CR carbonaceous meteorites and may be due to extensive thermal alteration of amino acids on the parent aster oid by partial melting during formation or impact shock heating.
Document ID
20090042810
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Glavin, Daniel P. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Aubrey, Andrew D. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Callahan, Michael P. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dworkin, Jason P. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Elsila, Jamie E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Parker, Eric T. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, CA, United States)
Bada, Jeffrey L. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2009
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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