Hydration of serine-metal cation complexes: implication for the role of water in the origin of homochirality on the Earth.

ABSTRACT

It may be taken for granted that the processes that occurred in water were of crucial importance for the origin of life. Therefore, it is quite likely that water was also important with respect to the origin of homochirality. Here, it is shown, using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, that the efficiency of hydration of homochiral serine-metal cation complexes is different from that of heterochiral serine-metal cation complexes. The differences in the efficiency of hydration of homo and heterochiral metal cation-amino acid complexes could lead to the amplification of formation of homochiral peptides in water solution from which life emerged.