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Ribose Alters the Photochemical Properties of the Nucleobase in Thionated Nucleosides

Journal Article

Substitution of exocyclic oxygen with sulfur was shown to substantially influence the properties of RNA/DNA bases, which are crucial for prebiotic chemistry and photodynamic therapies. Upon UV irradiation, thionucleobases were shown to efficiently...

Dimitar Sasselov

Person

Dimitar Sasselov is the Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. He explores stars and planets, and how life emerged on Earth, by specializing in the modes of interaction between light and matter, and the uses of remote sensing. Sasselov and...

Solvated-electron production by cyanocuprates is compatible with the UV-environment on the Haden-Archaean Earth

Journal Article

UV-driven photoredox processing of cyanocuprates can generate simple sugars necessary for prebiotic synthesis. We investigate the wavelength dependence of this process from 215 to 295 nm and generally observe faster rates at shorter wavelengths. The most...

UV‐Induced Charge‐Transfer States in Short Guanosine‐Containing DNA Oligonucleotides

Journal Article

Charge transfer has proven to be an important mechanism in DNA photochemistry. In particular, guanine (dG) plays a major role as an electron donor, but the photophysical dynamics of dG‐containing charge‐transfer states have not been extensively...

Sulfidic Anion Concentrations on Early Earth for Surgical Origins-of-Life Chemistry

Journal Article

A key challenge in origin-of-life studies is understanding the environmental conditions on early Earth under which abiogenesis occurred. While some constraints do exist (e.g., zircon evidence for surface liquid water), relatively few constraints exist on...

UV Transmission in Natural Waters on Prebiotic Earth

Journal Article

Ultraviolet (UV) light plays a key role in surficial theories of the origin of life, and numerous studies have focused on constraining the atmospheric transmission of UV radiation on early Earth. However, the UV transmission of the natural waters in which...

Sasselov Lab & Group

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Gabriella Lozano

Person

Ferrocyanide survival under near ultraviolet (300-400 nm) irradiation on early Earth

Journal Article

Sarah Crucilla

Person

Sarah received her BS in Geology from the California Institute of Technology. Her research now focuses on the interfaces between water, minerals, and biomolecules relating to the origin of life. In the Sasselov lab, she is studying the photophysics of RNA...

The Photophysics of Nucleic Acids: Consequences for the Emergence of Life

Journal Article

Absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation can trigger a variety of photophysical and photochemical reactions in nucleic acids. In the prebiotic era, on the surface of the early Earth, UV light could have played a major role in the selection of the building...

Prebiotic photoredox synthesis from carbon dioxide and sulfite

Journal Article

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the major carbonaceous component of many planetary atmospheres, which includes the Earth throughout its history. Carbon fixation chemistry—which reduces CO₂ to organics, utilizing hydrogen as the stoichiometric reductant—usually...

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13 results for "Photochemistry"

13 results for "Photochemistry"

Ribose Alters the Photochemical Properties of the Nucleobase in Thionated Nucleosides

Dimitar Sasselov

Solvated-electron production by cyanocuprates is compatible with the UV-environment on the Haden-Archaean Earth

UV‐Induced Charge‐Transfer States in Short Guanosine‐Containing DNA Oligonucleotides

Sulfidic Anion Concentrations on Early Earth for Surgical Origins-of-Life Chemistry

UV Transmission in Natural Waters on Prebiotic Earth

Sasselov Lab & Group

Gabriella Lozano

Ferrocyanide survival under near ultraviolet (300-400 nm) irradiation on early Earth

Sarah Crucilla

The Photophysics of Nucleic Acids: Consequences for the Emergence of Life

Prebiotic photoredox synthesis from carbon dioxide and sulfite