Vollmer, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-7768-7651, Kepaptsoglou, D. orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-0470, Leitner, J. orcid.org/0000-0003-3655-6273 et al. (7 more authors) (2024) High-spatial resolution functional chemistry of nitrogen compounds in the observed UK meteorite fall Winchcombe. Nature Communications, 15. 778. ISSN 2041-1723
Abstract
Organic matter in extraterrestrial samples is a complex material that might have played an important role in the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth. We report here on the identification of nitrogen-containing compounds such as amino acids and N-heterocycles within the recent observed meteorite fall Winchcombe by high-spatial resolution spectroscopy techniques. Although nitrogen contents of Winchcombe organic matter are low (N/C ~ 1–3%), we were able to detect the presence of these compounds using a low-noise direct electron detector. These biologically relevant molecules have therefore been tentatively found within a fresh, minimally processed meteorite sample by high spatial resolution techniques conserving the overall petrographic context. Carbon functional chemistry investigations show that sizes of aromatic domains are small and that abundances of carboxylic functional groups are low. Our observations demonstrate that Winchcombe represents an important addition to the collection of carbonaceous chondrites and still preserves pristine extraterrestrial organic matter.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 30 Jan 2024 12:16 |
Last Modified: | 30 Jan 2024 12:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41467-024-45064-x |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:208437 |