Phosphorylation of adenosine in aqueous solution by electric discharges

Abstract

Dehydration reactions involving condensing reagents in aqueous solution¹ have been studied as models of chemical evolution, and one such reagent has been found to be produced in the supposed primitive Earth conditions². We assumed that the dehydration condensation in aqueous solution could occur if the condensing reagents, which appear to be produced by electric discharges in the gas phase, could be carried to the aqueous solution through the recycling of water washing the wall of the vessel. We present here an experimental study of the dehydration condensation between phosphate and adenosine in aqueous solution using a new discharge apparatus (Fig. 1) which simulates prebiotic chemical evolution. The apparatus was designed so that water recycles in a vessel containing a solution at a relatively low temperature (∼30°C), achieved by showering water at 18 °C from above the vessel. This is a simulation of the recycling system of water on the Earth, depending on a large difference in temperature between the ocean surface and the sky.