Photochemistry is an important facet in the study of the origin of life and prebiotic chemistry. Solar photons are the unique source of the large amounts of energy likely required to initiate the organisation of matter to produce biological life. The Miller–Urey experiment simulated the conditions thought to be present on the early earth and supported the hypothesis that under such conditions complex organic compounds could be synthesised from simpler inorganic precursors. The experiment inspired many others, including the production of various alcohols, aldehydes and organic acids through UV-photolysis of water vapour with carbon monoxide. This book covers the photochemical aspects of the study of prebiotic and origin of life chemistry an ideal companion for postgraduates and researchers in prebiotic chemistry, photochemistry, photobiology, chemical biology and astrochemistry.

Innehållsförteckning

The Light of Photophysics and Photochemistry / E. (R. A. C.) Giannetto -- Extraterrestrial Photochemistry: Principles and Applications / Christopher R. Arumainayagam, Eric Herbst, A. N. Heays, Ella Mullikin, Megan Farrah and Michael G. Mavros -- Gas-phase Prebiotic Chemistry Driven by Ultraviolet Photolysis of Simple Molecules / N. Balucani and D. Skouteris -- Unveiling Early Earth Photochemistry Through Experimental Simulations of Planetary Atmospheres / N. Carrasco and T. Gautier -- Rethinking UV-induced Prebiotic Selection of Biomolecules / Rafał Szabla -- The Role of Photochemistry in the Prebiotic Model of Formamide / Ernesto Di Mauro, Bruno Mattia Bizzarri and Raffaele Saladino -- Nucleobases as Molecular Fossils of Prebiotic Photochemistry: Excited-state Dynamics of C2 and C6 Substituted Purines / G. Gate, A. Williams, M. R. Haggmark, N. D. Svadlenak, G. Hill and M. S. de Vries -- Comets, Do They Have a Role in Prebiotic Photochemistry? / A. Rotundi, N. Balucani, I. Bertini, J. R. Brucato, V. Della Corte, M. Fulle, L. Inno and P. Palumbo -- Life Chooses Homochirality: The Role of Cosmic Dust in Chiral Selection / M. A. Iatì, R. Saija, L. Monsù Scolaro and C. Cecchi-Pestellini -- Interstellar Complex Organic Molecules: A Step Toward Biomolecule Building Blocks in the Skies / Cristina Puzzarini and Vincenzo Barone -- The Buried Chemical Wealth of Ices in Protoplanetary Discs / C. Cecchi-Pestellini, A. Ciaravella, A. Jiménez-Escobar, G. M. Muñoz-Caro, C.-H. Huang and Y.-J. Chen -- Consequences of Heavy Bombardment on Prebiotic Synthesis / Martin Ferus, Alan N. Heays and Antonín Knížek -- The Birth and Fate of Glycine: From the Interstellar Medium to Primitive Earth / A. Rimola, M. Sodupe and P. Ugliengo -- Reconciling the Genetics-first and Metabolism-first Scenarios of the Origin of Life: Cyclic GMP as the Seed of Life / Judit E. Šponer, Ernesto Di Mauro and Jiří Šponer