Efficient and homochiral selective oligomerization of racemic ribonucleotides on mineral surface

We have found that activated racemic mononucleotides oligomerize with compa rable efficiency to chiral D-monomers on Na+-montmorillonite, and that the reaction proceeds in a homochiral selective manner to preferentially give o ptically homogeneous D- and L-oligomers. Mineral surfaces might play import ant roles in an early stage of chemical evolution of RNAs.