Unveiling the Effect of Myo-inositol on Primitive Cell Models Derived from Fatty Acid

Early forms of life on Earth were most likely not complex. Simple non-living molecules may have formed aggregates, orunderwent spontaneous complex organic reactions resulting in build-up of molecular complexity leading to origin of life. Protocell (hypothetical first live cell) models based on fatty acid self-assemblies have been used in many experiments. Sugars, amino acids and nucleic acids are the backbone of any living creature. Myo-inositol (InOH), is structurally similar to pyranose form of d-glucose. InOH not only has higher stability than simple sugars, but also not easily degraded under extreme conditions. Therefore, InOH would have persisted in the hostile environment of early Earth. Here, our objective is to study the effect of varying concentrations of InOH, a prebiotic sugar-like biomolecule, on the self-assemblies derived from oleic acid using solvation dynamics as a major experimental tool. We have demonstrated that InOH does indeed perturb the membrane of oleic acid/oleate vesicles, which is characterized by more negative zeta potential of vesicles, and faster solvation dynamics of the solvation probe C153. Overall, our results provide significant insight towards understanding the role of carbohydrate osmolytes in relation to protocell models.