Quartz fibers as templates for biopolymers

The polymerization of silica in water solution to form quartz fibers proceeds by a dehydration process, analogous to condensation polymerization in organic high-polymers, in which monomeric Si(OH)4 groups unite through Si--O--Si bonds with the elimination of H2O. The resulting fibers are structurally polar along the direction of elongation, are enantiomorphous, and generally show stereospecific twisting around the direction of elongation. In these regards the fibers are analogues of biopolymers such as RNA and DNA. Quartz also possesses specific adsorptive relations to a wide range of organic substances including monomer amino acids, short-chain polypeptides, and proteins. These involve hydrogen-bonding between (OH) or silanol groups on the surface of the quartz with active side-groups on the organic molecules, and in part are epitaxial through dimensional coincidences in the interface. Geochemical evidence indicates that quartz was deposited in the early Precambrian ocean either by direct crystallization from seawater or by recrystallization of amorphous silica. What is of interest is the possible role of quartz fibers as a template and co-polymer in the passage of biomonomers in the pre-biotic ocean to the long-chain biopolymers such as nucleic acids and proteins that are involved in life processes.