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Sunday, November 24, 2024

Extraterrestrial amino acids from the Murchison meteorite and their possible uses (HMT - hexamethylenetetramine as the precursor)

Original paper:  Extraterrestrial hexamethylenetetramine in meteorites—a precursor of prebiotic chemistry in the inner solar system

Diagram from here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20038-x?fromPaywallRec=false

All nine alien (forgive the hyperbole) amino acids contain a complex ring structure with four nitrogen atoms. 



In my dictionary of important organic compounds, I noted that similar molecules containing only CHNO with only four nitrogen atoms include: pentamidine, telmisartan, irinotecan, rifampicin, vinblastine, and others.

https://platedlizard.blogspot.com/2023/11/dictionary-of-useful-organic-compounds_11.html

The aforementioned compounds are mostly either antifungals or antibiotics derived from fungi, yet their chemical structures are totally different from the alien amino acids. 

It would be worthwhile to see what medicinal purposes these alien amino acids and related compounds might have. HMT (was discovered in 1859 by Butlerov and an industrial process for its synthesis exists.

While some medical uses of HMT are known (it has been used to treat urinary tract infections), I do not think the properties of its amino acid cousins have been studied to the same extent. 



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