Efficient direct phosphorylation of ribonucleosides by slightly soluble nickel phosphate mineral arupite, using wet/dry cycles

Abstract

Phosphorylation of all canonical ribonucleosides was achieved with yields up to 31% using a slightly soluble source of nickel phosphate, arupite, Ni₃(PO₄)₂·8H₂O, after 28 wet/dry cycles, for 14 days (at 90 °C, in the presence of borate and urea in aqueous solution). This mineral could form under prebiological environments, and it is much more efficient than hydroxyapatite in phosphorylation reactions, under similar conditions. The samples were analyzed by ³¹P and ¹³C DEPT-135 NMR. These results suggest how phosphorylation of early molecules associated with the origin of life could have efficiently occurred in aqueous environments.