R. de Graaf, J. Visscher, A. Schwartz
May 8, 1998
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0
Influential Citations
16
Citations
Journal
Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
Abstract
Phosphonoacetaldehyde (PAL), a phosphonic acid analogue of glycolaldehyde phosphate, reacts in the presence of formaldehyde under mildly basic conditions to produce several new products. The reaction proceeds in two stages: a fast aldol condensation of formaldehyde with PAL, and a slower reaction to produce products containing two phosphonic acid groups. We report on the derivatization, isolation by means of HPLC and characterization of these compounds. One of the products is of potential interest as a building block for a prebiotic informational polymer.