Chiral 480nm absorption in the hemoglycin space polymer

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a chiral space polymer with a specific blue light absorption at 480nm, linked to its iron content and chirality, suggesting a possible early solar system origin.

Contribution

It introduces a novel chiral hemoglycin polymer with unique optical properties and discusses its potential formation and selection in the early solar system.

Findings

Absorption at 480nm depends on chirality and iron state.

The polymer is composed of glycine, hydroxy-glycine, silicon, iron, and oxygen.

Infrared spectrum supports structural analysis.

Abstract

A 1494 Dalton hemoglycin space polymer of Glycine18 Hydroxy-glycine4 Fe2O4 termed the core unit is part of a polymer of Glycine, Si, Fe and O that forms tubes, vesicles and a lattice structure isolated from CV3 meteorites and characterized by mass spectrometry, FIB/SIMS and X-ray analysis. In Hartree-Fock calculations the polymer has an absorption of blue light at 480nm that is dependent on rectus R (= dextro D) chirality in a hydroxy-glycine residue whose C-terminus is bonded to an iron atom. The absorption originates in the Fe II state as a consequence of chiral symmetry breaking. The infrared spectrum is presented. We discuss how the core unit could have been selected 4.5 billion years ago in our protoplanetary disc by blue light from the early sun.