Pyrite Interference in Prebiotic Chiral Selection of Amino Acids

Pyrite Interference in Prebiotic Chiral Selection of Amino Acids | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Pyrite Interference in Prebiotic Chiral Selection of Amino Acids Yuxi Fang, Ruiqi Li, Quanzheng Deng, Lu Han, Yingying Duan, Tianwei Ouyang, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6587698/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract L-amino acids are ubiquitous in biology, yet the origin of their homochirality is an enduring mystery. Prebiotic chiral selection process of amino acids could significantly influence subsequent molecular evolution and emergence of life. However, the distribution of chirality of amino acids remains convoluted, which poses obstacles to the in-depth study of prebiotic chiral selection of amino acids. Here, we propose that minerals in the prebiotic environment might hindered the absolute selection of L-amino acids, inducing a random distribution of L- and D-amino acids during the early stages of life's evolution. Pyrite, abundant in the prebiotic world, predominantly selected D-amino acids in the photocatalytic reductive amination of α-keto acids, resisting the enantioselectivity of chiral driving forces (CDFs) like chiral structures, magnetic fields, circularly polarized light, and chiral molecules. This resistance is due to the wavy atomic arrangement of pyrite surfaces, which causes larger reaction energy differences between enantiomers. Our findings provide evidence to assess the validity of prebiotic chiral selection scenarios for biomolecules, an important step in understanding the origin of life. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical origin of life Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical synthesis/Asymmetric synthesis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupportingInformation.docx SI Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6587698","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":537910684,"identity":"9dd48b9e-dcc5-4057-8342-618147b518cf","order_by":0,"name":"Yuxi 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