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Poster De Conférence Année : 2022

Sample preparation on future space missions for in situ gas chromatograph- mass spectrometer analyses of molecules with astrobiology interests

A. Buch
Melissa G. Trainer
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 1058138
Jennifer C. Stern
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 1034249
Amy Williams
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 1124699

Résumé

To better understand prebiotic chemistry and detect past or present life through bioindicator and biosignature detections on Titan (biggest Saturn’s satellite), one exceptional space mission called Dragonfly is planned for a launch by 2027 [1,2]. Among the four scientific instruments aboard the Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, DraMS which is Laser Desorption/Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LD/GC-MS) will use different sample pre-treatments on the sampled solid matrices to extract, volatilize, then detect, identify, and quantify the wide range of complex organics formed on Titan [3]. Two of these pre-treatments use humid chemistry through a reaction of derivatization made by dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMF-DMA used at 145 °C) [4,5] and tetramethylammonium hydroxide or trimethylsulfonium hydroxide (TMAH or TMSH used up to 500/600 °C) [6]. DMF-DMA will be used for conserving the chiral carbon conformation and analyzing enantiomeric forms as it represents a bioindicator for life appearance on Earth (e.g. D/L amino acid forms) [7], and TMAH will help detect heavier molecules (e.g. fatty acids, nucleobases). The main results highlighted by our work on DMF-DMA derivatizing amino acid standards and tholins (Titan analog aerosols) [8-10] is the detection of a wide range of organic compounds (in chemical family diversity and in abundance) with in parallel the detection and quantification of amino acids (present in the Tholins or added in the sample at trace levels). Concerning the derivatization at high temperature, we compared three different derivatization reagents (TMAH, TMSH, and Trimethylphenylammonium hydroxide – TMPAH) to select the reagents that will be aboard DraMS and the limits of detection. TMAH and TMSH present similar characteristics with the same order of magnitude in the limits of detection measured on fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleobases pure standards, with a new regard toward the newly derivatizing reagent (TMSH) for future space mission as it does not form nitrogen-bearing compounds during the derivatization at high temperatures, which is an advantage for the identification of molecules implicated in the prebiotic chemistry and the formation of primitive living cells.
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Dates et versions

hal-04462970 , version 1 (20-02-2024)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04462970 , version 1

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David Boulesteix, A. Buch, Cyril Szopa, Caroline Freissinet, Melissa G. Trainer, et al.. Sample preparation on future space missions for in situ gas chromatograph- mass spectrometer analyses of molecules with astrobiology interests. Titan through time, Jun 2022, Paris (en ligne), France. ⟨hal-04462970⟩
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