2010/02/16 by Philippe Schmitt‐Kopplin, Z. Gabélica, Régis D. Gougeon +6 · 14 citations
Environmental Science · Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications #Origins and Evolution of Life
paper · pdf · doi:10.1073/pnas.0912157107
openalex publication_date 2010/02/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Numerous descriptions of organic molecules present in the Murchison meteorite have improved our understanding of the early interstellar chemistry that operated at or just before the birth of our solar system. However, all molecular analyses were so far targeted toward selected classes of compounds with a particular emphasis on biologically active components in the context of prebiotic chemistry. Here we demonstrate that a nontargeted ultrahigh-resolution molecular analysis of the solvent-accessible organic fraction of Murchison extracted under mild conditions allows one to extend its indigenous chemical diversity to tens of thousands of different molecular compositions and likely millions of diverse structures. This molecular complexity, which provides hints on heteroatoms chronological assembly, suggests that the extraterrestrial chemodiversity is high compared to terrestrial relevant biological- and biogeochemical-driven chemical space.