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Uncovering the chiral bias of meteoritic isovaline through asymmetric photochemistry

Author

Listed:
  • Jana Bocková

    (Université Côte d’Azur)

  • Nykola C. Jones

    (Aarhus University)

  • Jérémie Topin

    (Université Côte d’Azur)

  • Søren V. Hoffmann

    (Aarhus University)

  • Cornelia Meinert

    (Université Côte d’Azur)

Abstract

Systematic enrichments of l-amino acids in meteorites is a strong indication that biological homochirality originated beyond Earth. Although still unresolved, stellar UV circularly polarized light (CPL) is the leading hypothesis to have caused the symmetry breaking in space. This involves the differential absorption of left- and right-CPL, a phenomenon called circular dichroism, which enables chiral discrimination. Here we unveil coherent chiroptical spectra of thin films of isovaline enantiomers, the first step towards asymmetric photolysis experiments using a tunable laser set-up. As analogues to amino acids adsorbed on interstellar dust grains, CPL-helicity dependent enantiomeric excesses of up to 2% were generated in isotropic racemic films of isovaline. The low efficiency of chirality transfer from broadband CPL to isovaline could explain why its enantiomeric excess is not detected in the most pristine chondrites. Notwithstanding, small, yet consistent l-biases induced by stellar CPL would have been crucial for its amplification during aqueous alteration of meteorite parent bodies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jana Bocková & Nykola C. Jones & Jérémie Topin & Søren V. Hoffmann & Cornelia Meinert, 2023. "Uncovering the chiral bias of meteoritic isovaline through asymmetric photochemistry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39177-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39177-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shankar Pandey & Shankar Mandal & Mathias Bogetoft Danielsen & Asha Brown & Changpeng Hu & Niels Johan Christensen & Alina Vitaliyivna Kulakova & Shixi Song & Tom Brown & Knud J. Jensen & Jesper Wenge, 2022. "Chirality transmission in macromolecular domains," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Patrycja Stachelek & Lewis MacKenzie & David Parker & Robert Pal, 2022. "Circularly polarised luminescence laser scanning confocal microscopy to study live cell chiral molecular interactions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Cornelia Meinert & Adrien D. Garcia & Jérémie Topin & Nykola C. Jones & Mira Diekmann & Robert Berger & Laurent Nahon & Søren V. Hoffmann & Uwe J. Meierhenrich, 2022. "Amino acid gas phase circular dichroism and implications for the origin of biomolecular asymmetry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.
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