Computational approaches are nowadays a full, self-standing branch of chemistry, both for their quantum-based (“ab initio”) accuracy, and for its multiscale extent. In prebiotic chemistry, however, due to the instrinsic complexity of the chemical problems, ab initio atomistic simulations have so far had a limited impact, with the exception of a few relevant studies. Surprisingly, even the...
Understanding the interaction between biomolecules, such as amino-acids, peptides or proteins, and surfaces is of importance in the fields of surface chemistry, catalysis and prebiotic chemistry. It has been found that a number of amino-acids self-organize to form well-ordered two-dimensional structures at metal surfaces (1). On the other hand, it is important to explore the role-play by...
One major unresolved question in the origin of life is the autonomous synthesis of nucleotides. Recent chemical advances have thrown light upon potential synthetic pathways for the production of nucleotides in the laboratory, starting from simple precursors [1]. However, so far the original experiments were performed in bulk chemistry, and the synthetic steps successively one by one,...
