Publication Type Journal Article
Title Amino acid analyses of type 3 chondrites Colony, Ornans, Chainpur, and Bishunpur
Authors H. -S. Chan Zita Martins M. A. Sephton
Groups
Journal METEORITICS \& PLANETARY SCIENCE
Year 2012
Month September
Volume 47
Number 9
Pages 1502-1516
Abstract The CO3s Colony and Ornans and LL3s Chainpur and Bishunpur were analyzed for the first time for amino acids using gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). Type 3 chondrites have relatively unaltered metamorphic and petrological histories. Chainpur was the most amino acid rich of the four type 3 chondrites with a total amino acid abundance of 3330 parts per billion (ppb). The other type 3 chondrites had total amino acid abundances that ranged from 660 to 1110 ppb. A d/l ratio of <0.7 for all proteic amino acids suggests at least some amino acid terrestrial contamination. However, a small fraction of indigenous extraterrestrial amino acids cannot be excluded because of the presence of the nonprotein amino acid a-aminoisobutyric acid (a-AIB), and unusually high relative abundances (to glycine) of beta-alanine and ?-ABA. The comparisons between the free and total amino acid contents of the samples also indicate a low free/total amino acid ratio (ranging from about 1:4 in CO chondrites to about 1:50 in Chainpur), which indicate that amino acids are present mainly in the bound form and were made detectable after acid hydrolysis.
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2012.01413.x
ISBN
Publisher
Book Title
ISSN 1086-9379
EISSN 1945-5100
Conference Name
Bibtex ID ISI:000309234000007
Observations
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