Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.0909c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #9.09
Computer Science
Performance
Scientific paper
The recovery of meteorite fragments from the 2008 TC3 asteroid impact, collectively named Almahata Sitta, revealed a rare, anomalous polymict ureilite containing large carbonaceous grains (Jenniskens et al. 2009). Here we report the first amino acid analysis of a meteorite from an F-type asteroid as part of the Almahata Sitta meteorite sample analysis consortium. A single fragment (piece #4, 1.2 grams) was crushed to a powder, and separate 0.1 g aliquots of the same meteorite were carried through identical hot-water extraction, acid hydrolysis and desalting procedures at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The o-phthaldialdehyde/N-acetyl-L-cysteine amino acid derivatives in the extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with UV fluorescence detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Analyses of the meteorite extracts revealed a complex distribution of two- to six-carbon aliphatic amino acids with abundances ranging from 0.5 to 69 parts-per-billion (ppb). Glycine was the most abundant amino acid detected, however, since this protein amino acid is a common terrestrial contaminant, we are currently unable to rule out at least a partial terrestrial source. However, the D/L ratio of alanine in the meteorite was racemic, suggesting that very little terrestrial amino acid contamination. Several non-protein amino acids that are rare in the biosphere were also identified in the meteorite above background levels including D,L-4-amino-2-methybutyric acid (65 ± 8 ppb), D-isovaline (1.3 ± 0.1 ppb), L-isovaline (1.4 ± 0.1 ppb), and α-aminoisobutryic acid (7.1 ± 5.8 ppb). The abundance of isovaline and AIB are 1000 times lower than the abundances found in the CM2 meteorite Murchison while D,L-4-amino-2-methybutyric acid is similar. The very low amino acid abundances and the presence of several amino acid decomposition products including methylamine, ethylamine, and isopropylamine are consistent with extensive thermal alteration of organic compounds on the parent asteroid.
Aubrey Andrew
Bada Jeffrey L.
Callahan Michael
Dworkin Jason P.
Elsila Jamie E.
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