Summary
Chemical evolution on the primitive earth must have involved the condensation ofα-amino acids to peptides under a variety of conditions. Subjecting a mixture of methane, ammonia, and water to an electric discharge in the presence of free amino acids yields small peptides. The dehydration-condensation may have taken place via ammonium cyanide, the hydrogen cyanide tetramer, or aminonitriles. The experiments may be considered genuinely prebiotic and significant in the context of chemical evolution.
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Flores, J.J., Ponnamperuma, C. Polymerization of amino acids under primitive earth conditions. J Mol Evol 2, 1–9 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01653937
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01653937