Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C003411/1
Mechanisms and consequences of chirally selective processes at mineral surfaces
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr MR Preston, University of Liverpool, Earth Surface Dynamics
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor DJ Prior, University of Otago, Geology Department
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor R Raval, University of Liverpool, Chemistry
- Grant held at:
- University of Liverpool, Earth Surface Dynamics
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Earth
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Science Topics:
- Pollution
- Environment & Health
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Properties Of Earth Materials
- Abstract:
- Biology is chiral; that is to say that many organic molecules exist in chemically identical but mirror image forms. A strong chiral preference for 'left-handed' forms of amino acids and 'right-handed' sugar biomolecules is a defining characteristic of biological systems. Similar preferences are shown for other key biomolecules. The origins of this chirality are currently the subject of much interest and the search for abiotic processes that select 'left-handed' rather than 'right-handed' molecules has profound implications for geochemical models of life's origin and evolution. Crystalline surfaces, such as the surfaces of minerals that make up the solid Earth, are not 'chirally blind'. Selective adsorption of one enantiomer ('left' or 'right' handed molecules) on mineral surfaces has profound implications; it has been cited as one possible cause of the homochirality observed in nature. Furthermore chirally selective adsorption may also have major consequences for the mechanisms by which organic material (including priority pollutants) is fixed, transported and degraded in the environment. This proposal aims to document the degree of chiral selectivity that can occur at mineral surfaces and, very importantly, shed light on the mechanisms by which this selection occurs. We will conduct a series of laboratory experiments to quantify the selective adsorption effects of different minerals and different mineral surfaces (different crystallographic orientations). These experiments will be coupled to a detailed examination of the atomic- scale interactions between organic molecules and mineral surfaces, using modern techniques of surface science, that will enable us to understand better the mechanisms by which adsorption and chiral selection occur.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C003411/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £235,205
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Equipment | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £7,607 | £79,782 | £44,309 | £51,628 | £51,879 |
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