Abstract
SURFACE catalysis and epitaxis are controlled by crystallographic factors. Molecules adsorbed on solid phase boundaries exhibit different physical chemical properties from the same molecules when present in a solution. In solid state conditions a lowering in activation energies is frequently observed and amino-acids may polymerize to peptides and proteins once they are attached on a solid surface. The mineral surface simply acts as a selective lattice.
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References
Degens, E. T., and Matheja, J., J. Brit. Interplanet. Soc., 21, 52 (1968).
Degens, E. T., and Matheja, J., Structure, Function and Origin of Nucleic Acids and Proteins (edit. by Oró, J., and Kimball, A. P.) (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1970).
Degens, E. T., Spencer, D. W., and Parker, E. H., Comp. Biochem. Phys., 20, 553 (1967).
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DEGENS, E., MATHEJA, J. & JACKSON, T. Template Catalysis: Asymmetric Polymerization of Amino-acids on Clay Minerals. Nature 227, 492–493 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227492a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/227492a0
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