Formose Reactions on Microdroplets (FROM)

I propose to examine the importance of water microdroplets sprayed from geysers as a reaction medium in prebiotic chemistry, with the goal of providing evidence for CO2-reduction to formaldehyde and following synthesis of carbohydrates from formaldehyde via the formose reaction. Water microdroplets have recently been proven to be a unique reaction medium, but the importance of microdroplets for the origins of life remains largely unexplored. This fellowship application proposes geysers as a catalyst for synthesis of complex organic molecules at the origin of life – a new hypothesis which has previously not been explored. This is a high risk, high gain proposal and the new scientific skills obtained during the fellowship will be highly valuable for a research career at the interface of organic synthesis and microdroplet chemistry. The project will be carried out over two years with Prof. Michael Pittelkow at the University of Copenhagen where all synthetic chemistry, kinetic experiments and characterization of products will be performed.