Rm. Degraaf et al., PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY OF PHOSPHONIC-ACIDS - PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM PHOSPHONOACETALDEHYDE IN THE PRESENCE OF FORMALDEHYDE, Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere, 28(3), 1998, pp. 271-282
Phosphonoacetaldehyde (PAL), a phosphonic acid analogue of glycolaldeh
yde phosphate, reacts in the presence of formaldehyde under mildly bas
ic conditions to produce several new products. The reaction proceeds i
n two stages: a fast aldol condensation of formaldehyde with PAL, and
a slower reaction to produce products containing two phosphonic acid g
roups. We report on the derivatization, isolation by means of HPLC and
characterization of these compounds. One of the products is of potent
ial interest as a building block for a prebiotic informational polymer
.