Standoff Time-Resolved Fast Fluorescence of Organics and Amino Acids (original) (raw)
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We discuss fluorescence as a method to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other organic molecules, as well as minerals on the surface of Mars. We present an instrument design that is adapted from the ChemCam instrument which is currently on the Mars Science Lander Rover Curiosity and thus most of the primary components are currently flight qualified for Mars surface operations, significantly reducing development costs. The major change compared to ChemCam is the frequency multipliers of the 1064 nm laser to wavelengths suitable for fluorescence excitation (266 nm, 355 nm, and 532 nm). We present fluorescence spectrum for a variety of organics and minerals relevant to the surface of Mars. Preliminary results show minerals already known on Mars, such as perchlorate, fluoresce strongest when excited by 355 nm. Also we demonstrate that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as those present in Martian meteorites, are highly fluorescent at wavelengths in the ultraviolet (266 nm,...
Amino acid photostability on the Martian surface
… & Planetary Science, 2005
available online at http://meteoritics.org 1185 Abstract-In the framework of international planetary exploration programs, several space missions are planned to search for organics and bio-signatures on Mars. Previous attempts have not detected any organic compounds in the Martian regolith. It is therefore critical to investigate the processes that may affect organic molecules on and below the planet's surface. Laboratory simulations can provide useful data about the reaction pathways of organic material at Mars' surface. We have studied the stability of amino acid thin films against ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and use those data to predict the survival time of these compounds on and in the Martian regolith. We show that thin films of glycine and D-alanine are expected to have half-lives of 22 ± 5 hr and of 3 ± 1 hr, respectively, when irradiated with Mars-like UV flux levels. Modelling shows that the half-lives of the amino acids are extended to the order of 10 7 years when embedded in regolith. These data suggest that subsurface sampling must be a key component of future missions to Mars dedicated to organic detection.
Mars Organic Detector III: a versatile instrument for detection of bio-organic signatures on Mars
2003
Recent advances in the development of microfabricated lab-on-a-chip analysis systems have enhanced the feasibility and capabilities of in situ chemical and biochemical analyzers. While a wide variety of bio-organic molecules can be probed, we have focused our initial studies on the development of an amino acid analyzer with the hypothesis that extraterrestrial life would be based on homochiral amino acid polymers. In previous work, we developed a prototype electrophoresis chip, detection system and analysis method where the hydrolyzed amino acids were labeled with fluorescein and then analyzed in minutes via a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation in the presence of γcyclodextrin as the chiral recognition agent. 1 In more recent work, we have demonstrated the feasibility of performing amino acid composition and chirality analyses using fluorescamine as the labeling reagent. Fluorescamine is advantageous because it reacts more rapidly with amino acids, has a low fluorescence background and because such a chemistry would interface directly with the Mars Organic Detector (MOD-I) concept being developed at Scripps. A more advanced analysis system called MOD-III is introduced here with the ability to analyze zwitterionic amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and organic acids and bases using novel capture matrix chemistries. MOD-III, which is enabled by the nanoliter valves, pumps and reactors presented here, will provide a wide spectrum of organic chemical analyses and is suitable for a variety of in situ missions.
International Journal of Astrobiology, 2009
With the discovery of Na-sulphate minerals on Mars and Europa, recent studies using these minerals have focused on their ability to assist in the detection of bio/organic signatures. This study further investigates the ability of thenardite (Na2SO4) to effectively facilitate the ionization and identification of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan) using a technique called geomatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization in conjunction with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. This technique is based on the ability of a mineral host to facilitate desorption and ionization of bio/organic molecules for detection. Spectra obtained from each aromatic amino acid alone and in combination with thenardite show differences in ionization mechanism and fragmentation patterns. These differences are due to chemical and structural differences between the aromatic side chains of their respective amino acid. Tyrosine and tryptophan when combined with ...
Advances in Space Research, 2001
If there is, or ever was, life in our solar system beyond the Earth, Mars is the most likely place to search for. Future space missions will have then to take into account tile detection of prebiotic molecules or molecules of biological significance such as amino acids. Techniques of analysis used for returned samples have to be very sensitive and avoid any chemical or biological contamination whereas in situ techniques have to be automated, fast and low energy consuming. Several possible methods could be used for in situ amino acid analyses on Mars, but gas chromatography would likely be the most suitable. Returned samples could be analyzed by any method in routine laboratory use such as gas chromatography, already successfully performed for analyses of organic matter including amino acids from martian meteorites. The derivatization step, which volatilizes amino acids to perform both in situ and laboratory analysis by gas chromatography, is discussed here.
Astrobiology, 2005
O. Vandenabeele-Trambouze, M. Claeys-Bruno, M. Dobrijevic, C. Rodier, G. Borruat, A. Commeyras, L. Garrelly. Comparison of methods for measurement of organic compounds at ultra-trace level: analytical criteria and application to analysis of amino acids in extraterrestrial samples. Astrobiology. Fev.2005, vol.5, n°1, 48-65 -Y. Lasne, Ph. Paillou, G. Ruffié, M. Crapeau, "Effect of multiple scattering on the phase signature of wet subsurface structures: Applications to polarimatric L and C-band SAR", Evaluation of the possible presence of clathrate hydrates in Europa's icy shell or seafloor, Icarus, 177-2, 491-505 (2005) -Schneider N. ; Selsis F. ; Lezeaux O. ; de La Noë J. ; Ricaud P. ; Urban J. ; Seasonal and diurnal ozone variations. Observations and modeling, Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 50-1, 25-47 (2005) Selsis F. ; Lemmon M. T. ; Vaubaillon J. ; Bell J. F. ; A martian meteor and its parent comet, Nature 435, 581 (2005) -V. Wakelam, F. Selsis, E. Herbst, P. Caselli, Estimation and reduction of the uncertainties in chemical models: Application to hot core chemistry, Astronomy and Astrophysics 444-3,883-889 (2005) -Selsis, F. -Dobrijevic, M. and Dutour, I. A random graph model for the study of chemical complexity in planetary atmospheres. Planetary and Space Science, 54, p 287-295, 2006. -Hébrard, E., Dobrijevic, M., Bénilan, Y., Raulin, F. Photochemical kinetics uncertainties in modeling Titan's atmosphere : a review. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews. 7 (4), 211-230. 2006. -Claeys-Bruno, M., Vandenabeele-Trambouze, O., Sergent, M., Geffard, M., Bodet, D., Dobrijevic, M., Commeyras, A., Phan Tan Luu, R. Methodological approaches for histamine quantification using derivatization by chloroethylnitrosourea and ELISA measurement. Part I: Optimisation of derivated histamine detection with coated-plates using optimal design. Chemometrics and intelligent Laboratory Systems., 80, 176-185, 2006. -Claeys-Bruno, M., Vandenabeele-Trambouze, O., Sergent, M., Geffard, M., Bodet, D., Dobrijevic, M., Commeyras, A., Phan Tan Luu, R. Methodological approaches for histamine quantification using derivatization by chloroethylnitrosourea and ELISA measurement. Part II: Optimisation of the derivatization step. "PolInsar analysis of X-band data over vegetated and urban areas", Pierre Models of synthetic aperture radar backscattering for bright flows and dark spots on Titan Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 111, Issue E11, CiteID E11011 -2006 -Heggy, Essam; Paillou, Philippe Probing structural elements of small buried craters using ground-penetrating radar in the southwestern Egyptian desert: Implications for Mars shallow sounding Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 33, Issue 5, CiteID L05202 -2006 -Ehrenreich D.; Tinetti G.; Lecavelier Des Etangs A.; Vidal-Madjar A.; Selsis F.; The transmission spectrum of Earth-size transiting planets,
International Journal of Astrobiology, 2014
The study of the evolution of organic matter subjected to space conditions, and more specifically to Solar photons in the vacuum ultraviolet range (120–200 nm) has been undertaken in low-Earth orbit since the 1990s, and implemented on various space platforms. This paper describes a photochemistry experiment called AMINO, conducted during 22 months between 2009 and 2011 on the EXPOSE-R ESA facility, outside the International Space Station. Samples with relevance to astrobiology (connected to comets, carbonaceous meteorites and micrometeorites, the atmosphere of Titan and RNA world hypothesis) have been selected and exposed to space environment. They have been analysed after return to the Earth. This paper is not discussing the results of the experiment, but rather gives a general overview of the project, the details of the hardware used, its configuration and recent developments to enable long-duration exposure of gaseous samples in tight closed cells enabling for the first time to d...
The effects of martian near surface conditions on the photochemistry of amino acids
Planetary and Space Science, 2006
In order to understand the complex multi-parameter system of destruction of organic material on the surface of Mars, step-by-step laboratory simulations of processes occurring on the surface of Mars are necessary. This paper describes the measured effects of two parameters, a CO2 atmosphere and low temperature, on the destruction rate of amino acids when irradiated with Mars-like ultraviolet light (UV). The results show that the presence of a 7mbar CO2 atmosphere does not affect the destruction rate of glycine, and that cooling the ...
Abstract We have developed a portable dual-wavelength laser fluorescence spectrometer as part of a multi-instrument optical probe to characterize mineral, organic, and microbial species in extreme environments. Operating at 405 and 532 nm, the instrument was originally designed for use by human explorers to produce a laser-induced fluorescence emission (L.I.F.E.) spectral database of the mineral and organic molecules found in the microbial communities of Earth’s cryosphere. Recently, our team had the opportunity to explore the strengths and limitations of the instrument when it was deployed on a remote-controlled Mars analog rover. In February 2013, the instrument was deployed on board the Magma White rover platform during the MARS2013 Mars analog field mission in the Kess Kess formation near Erfoud, Morocco. During these tests, we followed tele-science work flows pertinent to Mars surface missions in a simulated spaceflight environment. We report on the L.I.F.E. instrument setup, data processing, and performance during field trials. A pilot postmission laboratory analysis determined that rock samples acquired during the field mission exhibited a fluorescence signal from the Sunexposed side characteristic of chlorophyll a following excitation at 405 nm. A weak fluorescence response to excitation at 532 nm may have originated from another microbial photosynthetic pigment, phycoerythrin, but final assignment awaits development of a comprehensive database of mineral and organic fluorescence spectra. No chlorophyll fluorescence signal was detected from the shaded underside of the samples. Key Words: Biosensor—Life-detection instruments—Mars—Biomarkers—Planetary protection. Astrobiology 14, 391–405.