Liquid crystalline nanostructures: organizing matrices for non-enzymatic nucleic acid polymerization

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Liquid crystalline nanostructures: organizing matrices for non-enzymatic nucleic acid polymerization†

David Deamer^a

Author affiliations

^a Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz CA 95064, USA

Abstract

When a mixture of amphiphilic compounds and solute molecules undergoes dehydration, a liquid crystalline multilamellar matrix is produced that organizes and concentrates solute molecules between lamellae. If the solutes are nucleotides, RNA-like molecules can be synthesized by a condensation reaction when the system is exposed to one or more cycles of dehydration at elevated temperatures, followed by rehydration. The chemical potential driving the reaction is supplied by the anhydrous conditions in which water becomes a leaving group, with heat providing activation energy. Liquid crystalline matrices composed of amphiphilic compounds could have promoted polymerization reactions in prebiotic conditions, giving rise to the molecular complexity required for the origin of cellular life.

This article is part of the themed collection: Prebiotic chemistry

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35042D
Article type: Highlight
First published: 23 May 2012

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Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012,41, 5375-5379

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