Abiogenic and biogenic chiral amino acids for further enantiomer-specific isotope analysis (ESIA)

Introduction: Since the time of Pasteur, the development of biomolecular chirality has remained one of the most important problems with regard to our knowledge concerning chemical evolution. The homochiral amino acids and sugars are essential to the formation, structure, and function of biopolymers and are a defining molecular trait of life on the Earth [1] (cf. asymmetric photochemical processes from amino acid precursors in complex organics [2]). Meteorites, specifically carbonaceous chondrites, carry pristine abiotic signatures of molecular chirality in the solar system. Enantiomeric excesses of L-form α-methyl amino acids are found in the CM meteorite Murchison and the CI meteorite Orgueil with the correlation of hydro-alteration processes in the parent body [3]. For further information of compound-specific and enantiomer-specific nitrogen isotopic composition, here we developed the analytical optimization for achiral and chiral amino acids.