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Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments
Published on: January 21, 2014
Nonprotein amino acids from spark discharges and their comparison with the murchison meteorite amino acids
Y Wolman1, W J Haverland, S L Miller
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, Calif. 92037.
Abstract:
All the nonprotein amino acids found in the Murchison meteorite are products of the action of electric discharge on a mixture of methane, nitrogen, and water with traces of ammonia. These amino acids include alpha-amino-n-butyric acid, alpha-aminoisobutyric acid, norvaline, isovaline, pipecolic acid, beta-alanine, beta-amino-n-butyric acid, beta-aminoisobutyric acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, sarcosine, N-ethylglycine, and N-methylalanine. In addition, norleucine, alloisoleucine, N-propylglycine, N-isopropylglycine, N-methyl-beta-alanine, N-ethyl-beta-alanine alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid, isoserine, alpha,gamma-diaminobutyric acid, and alpha-hydroxy-gamma-aminobutyric acid are produced by the electric discharge, but have not been found in the meteorite.
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