Year-Long Stability of Nucleic Acid Bases in Concentrated Sulfuric Acid: Implications for the Persistence of Organic Chemistry in Venus' Clouds

Sara Seager; Janusz J Petkowski; Maxwell D Seager; John H Grimes Jr; Zachary Zinsli; Heidi R Vollmer-Snarr; Mohamed K Abd El-Rahman; David S Wishart; Brian L Lee; Vasuk Gautam; Lauren Herrington; William Bains; Charles Darrow

doi:10.3390/life14050538

Year-Long Stability of Nucleic Acid Bases in Concentrated Sulfuric Acid: Implications for the Persistence of Organic Chemistry in Venus' Clouds

Life (Basel). 2024 Apr 23;14(5):538. doi: 10.3390/life14050538.

Authors

Sara Seager^{1

2

3

4}, Janusz J Petkowski^{1

5

6}, Maxwell D Seager^{4

7}, John H Grimes Jr⁸, Zachary Zinsli⁹, Heidi R Vollmer-Snarr⁹, Mohamed K Abd El-Rahman⁹, David S Wishart^{10

11

12}, Brian L Lee¹⁰, Vasuk Gautam¹⁰, Lauren Herrington¹, William Bains^{1

13

14}, Charles Darrow⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
² Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³ Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁴ Nanoplanet Consulting, Concord, MA 01742, USA.
⁵ JJ Scientific, 02-792 Warsaw, Poland.
⁶ Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
⁷ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA.
⁸ Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁹ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Computing Science, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada.
¹² Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada.
¹³ School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, 4 The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK.
¹⁴ Rufus Scientific, Melbourn, Herts SG8 6ED, UK.

Abstract

We show that the nucleic acid bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil, as well as 2,6-diaminopurine, and the "core" nucleic acid bases purine and pyrimidine, are stable for more than one year in concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature and at acid concentrations relevant for Venus clouds (81% w/w to 98% w/w acid, the rest water). This work builds on our initial stability studies and is the first ever to test the reactivity and structural integrity of organic molecules subjected to extended incubation in concentrated sulfuric acid. The one-year-long stability of nucleic acid bases supports the notion that the Venus cloud environment-composed of concentrated sulfuric acid-may be able to support complex organic chemicals for extended periods of time.

Keywords: NMR; Venus; nucleic acid bases; sulfuric acid.

Abstract

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