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Natural Product Discovery with LC-MS/MS Diagnostic Fragmentation Filtering: Application for Microcystin Analysis
Published on: May 31, 2019
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Natural Product Molecular Fossils.
Heinz Falk1, Klaus Wolkenstein2
1Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria. heinz.falk@jku.at.
Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products
|February 5, 2017
Summary
Molecular fossils, remnants of ancient natural products, offer insights into past life. These geological biomarkers, both apolar and polar, are crucial for understanding Earth
Area of Science:
- Organic Geochemistry
- Paleontology
- Biogeochemistry
Background:
- Ancient organisms produced natural products that persist as molecular fossils.
- These fossils can be unaltered or chemically modified while retaining their core structure.
- When traceable to their source organism, they are classified as geological biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically describe apolar and polar molecular fossils and geological biomarkers.
- To identify the bioprecursors of these fossilized organic compounds.
- To outline the diagenetic processes affecting biomolecules over geological time.
Main Methods:
- Classification of molecular fossils based on chemical properties (apolar/polar).
- Detailed description of compound classes within apolar and polar categories.
- Discussion of analytical methodologies and transformation processes (diagenesis, catagenesis, metagenesis).
Main Results:
- Apolar molecular fossils include alkanes, alicyclic, aromatic, and heterocyclic compounds, notably geoporphyrins.
- Polar molecular fossils encompass ethers, alcohols, phenols, carbonyls, flavonoids, quinones, acids, and polymers (kerogen, melanin, etc.).
- Bioprecursors for many molecular fossils were identified.
Conclusions:
- Molecular fossils provide a chemical record of ancient life and ecosystems.
- Understanding their formation and transformation is key to interpreting geological records.
- This work serves as a comprehensive guide to molecular fossils and biomarkers in organic chemistry.
Keywords:
AcidsAlcoholsAlkanesAmberApolar compoundsAromatic compoundsCarbonyl compoundsDiagenesisEthersFlavonoidsGeological biomarkersGeopolymersGeoporphyrinsHeterocyclic compoundsKerogenMolecular fossilsPhenolsQuinonesMore Related Videos
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