ISSN:
1573-0875
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract Putative two-dimensional coding systems can beconstructed from aqueous solutions of purine andpyrimidine nucleic acid bases evaporated at moderatetemperatures on the surfaces of inorganic solids. Theresultant structures are monolayers which are formedspontaneously by molecular self-assembly and they havebeen observed with molecular resolution by scanningtunnelling microscopy (STM). When formed fromsolutions of a single base, the monolayers of adenineand uracil have crystalline characteristics and theSTM images can be interpreted in terms of thegeometrical placement of planar arranged moleculesthat interact laterally by intermolecular hydrogenbonding. When formed from solutions containing amixture of adenine and uracil, the monolayers haveaperiodic structures. Small crystalline domainswithin these monolayers can be interpreted in terms ofthe single phase configurations of the molecules andthe remaining aperiodic structures can presumably beinterpreted, geometrically, in terms of the 21theoretically possible adenine-adenine, uracil-uraciland adenine-uracil hydrogen bonding interactions. Wepropose that combinatorial arrangements of planararranged purine and pyrimidine bases could provide thenecessary complexity to act as a primitive geneticmechanism and may have relevance to the origin of life.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1006616725062
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