Amino acid formation induced by high-power laser in CO2/CO-N2-H2O gas mixtures

Authors: S. Civiš, L. Juha, D. Babánková, J. Cvačka, O. Frank, J. Jehlička, B. Králiková, J. Krása, P. Kubát, A. Muck, M. Pfeifer, J. Skála, J. Ullschmied

In a mixture of molecular gases with compositions (CO2–N2–H2O and CO–N2–H2O) and total pressure close to that of the EarthÕs early atmospheres, a centimeter-sized plasma was created by focusing a single 85-J, 450-ps near-infrared laser pulse in a center of 15-L gas cell. Chemical consequences of the laser-produced plasma generation in such a mixture were investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection (HPLC/MS). Amino acids were identified in the reaction mixture containing CO2 as well as in that one based on CO, both exposed to 10 laser shots.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2004.01.034