Issue 30, 2016

Formation of supramolecular assemblies and liquid crystals by purine nucleobases and cyanuric acid in water: implications for the possible origins of RNA

Abstract

The free nucleobases and mononucleotides of RNA do not form Watson–Crick base pairs in water, a fact that presents several challenges for the prebiotic synthesis of RNA. 2,6-Diaminopurine and adenosine-5′-monophosphate (AMP) are shown to form supramolecular assemblies with cyanuric acid in water. These assemblies and their propensity to form liquid crystals suggest a possible means by which non-covalent structures might have originally selected the shape of the Watson–Crick base pairs.

Graphical abstract: Formation of supramolecular assemblies and liquid crystals by purine nucleobases and cyanuric acid in water: implications for the possible origins of RNA

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
06 Mai 2016
Accepted
23 Mai 2016
First published
24 Mai 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 20091-20096

Formation of supramolecular assemblies and liquid crystals by purine nucleobases and cyanuric acid in water: implications for the possible origins of RNA

C. Li, B. J. Cafferty, S. C. Karunakaran, G. B. Schuster and N. V. Hud, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 20091 DOI: 10.1039/C6CP03047E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements