Interstellar formation of lactaldehyde, a key intermediate in the methylglyoxal pathway

Jia Wang, Chaojiang Zhang, Joshua H. Marks, Mikhail M. Evseev, Oleg V. Kuznetsov, Ivan O. Antonov () and Ralf I. Kaiser ()
Additional contact information
Jia Wang: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Chaojiang Zhang: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Joshua H. Marks: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Mikhail M. Evseev: Samara National Research University
Oleg V. Kuznetsov: Samara National Research University
Ivan O. Antonov: Samara National Research University
Ralf I. Kaiser: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Aldehydes are ubiquitous in star-forming regions and carbonaceous chondrites, serving as essential intermediates in metabolic pathways and molecular mass growth processes to vital biomolecules necessary for the origins of life. However, their interstellar formation mechanisms have remained largely elusive. Here, we unveil the formation of lactaldehyde (CH3CH(OH)CHO) by barrierless recombination of formyl (HĊO) and 1-hydroxyethyl (CH3ĊHOH) radicals in interstellar ice analogs composed of carbon monoxide (CO) and ethanol (CH3CH2OH). Lactaldehyde and its isomers 3-hydroxypropanal (HOCH2CH2CHO), ethyl formate (CH3CH2OCHO), and 1,3-propenediol (HOCH2CHCHOH) are identified in the gas phase utilizing isomer-selective photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry and isotopic substitution studies. These findings reveal fundamental formation pathways for complex, biologically relevant aldehydes through non-equilibrium reactions in interstellar environments. Once synthesized, lactaldehyde can act as a key precursor to critical biomolecules such as sugars, sugar acids, and amino acids in deep space.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54562-x Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-54562-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54562-x

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().