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Extraterrestrial Amino Acids Identified in Metal-Rich CH and CB Carbonaceous Chondrites from AntarcticaCarbonaceous chondrites contain numerous indigenous organic compounds and could have been an important source of prebiotic compounds required for the origin of life on Earth or elsewhere. Extraterrestrial amino acids have been reported in five of the eight groups of carbonaceous chondrites and are most abundant in CI, CM, and CR chondritesbut are also present in the more thermally altered CV and CO chondrites. We report the abundance, distribution, and enantiomeric and isotopic compositions of simple primary amino acids in six metal-rich CH and CB carbonaceous chondrites that have not previously been investigated for amino acids: Allan Hills (ALH) 85085 (CH3), Pecora Escarpment(PCA) 91467 (CH3), Patuxent Range (PAT) 91546 (CH3), MacAlpine Hills (MAC) 02675(CBb), Miller Range (MIL) 05082 (CB), and Miller Range (MIL) 07411 (CB). Amino acid abundances and carbon isotopic values were obtained by using both liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry and fluorescence, and gas chromatography isotope ratiomass spectrometry. The (delta D, delta C-13, delta N-15) ratios of multiple amino acids fall outside of the terrestrial range and support their extraterrestrial origin. Extracts of CH chondrites were found to be particularly rich in amino acids (1316 parts per million, ppm) while CB chondrite extracts had much lower abundances (0.22 ppm). The amino acid distributions of the CH and CB chondrites were distinct from the distributions observed in type 2 and 3 CM and CR chondrites and contained elevated levels of beta-, gamma-, and delta-amino acids compared to the corresponding alpha-amino acids, providing evidence that multiple amino acid formation mechanisms were important in CH and CB chondrites.
Document ID
20130014351
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Burton, Aaron S.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Elsila, Jamie E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Hein, Jason E.
(California Univ. Merced, CA, United States)
Glavin, Daniel P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dworkin, Jason P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
February 19, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume: 48
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN8875
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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