Based on the present state of knowledge a new hypothesis concerning the origin of life on Earth is presented, and emphasizes the particular significance of solvated electrons (e(aq)(-)). Solvated electrons are produced in seawater, mainly by (40)K radiation and in atmospheric moisture by VUV light, electrical discharges and cosmic ray. Solvated electrons are involved in primary chemical processes and in biological processes. The conversion of aqueous CO2 and CO into simple organic substances, the generation of ammonia from N2 and water, the formation of amines, amino acids and simple proteins under the action of e(aq)(-) has been experimentally proven. Furthermore, it is supposed that the generation of the primitive cell and equilibria of primitive enzymes are also realized due to the strong reducing property of e(aq)(-). The presented hypothesis is mainly founded on recently obtained experimental results. The involvement of e(aq)(-) in such mechanisms, as well as their action as an initiator of life is also briefly discussed.
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTOxidation of tryptophan and N-methylindole by N3.cntdot., Br2.-, and (SCN)2.- radicals in light- and heavy-water solutions: a pulse radiolysis studySonja Solar, Nikola Getoff, Parminder S. Surdhar, David A. Armstrong, and Ajit SinghCite this: J. Phys. Chem. 1991, 95, 9, 3639–3643Publication Date (Print):May 1, 1991Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 May 1991https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/j100162a038https://doi.org/10.1021/j100162a038research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views760Altmetric-Citations153LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access options Get e-Alerts
Ortmann, E. K., Mayerhofer, T., Getoff, N. and Kodym, R. Effect of Antioxidant Vitamins on Radiation-Induced Apoptosis in Cells of a Human Lymphoblastic Cell Line. Radiat. Res. 161, 48–55 (2004).Modulating the amount of radiation-induced apoptosis by administering antioxidant vitamins offers a possible way to influence radiation-induced side effects in normal tissues. Therefore, we investigated the effect of beta-carotene, vitamin C and alpha-tocopherol on radiation-induced apoptosis in cells in culture. Human T-lymphoblastic MOLT-3 cells were irradiated with a dose of 3 Gy 1 h after or immediately prior to the addition of vitamins in three concentrations (0.01 μM, 1 μM and 100 μM). Eight hours later, apoptosis was scored morphologically by staining the nuclear DNA with Hoechst 33342. When given prior to irradiation, beta-carotene and vitamin E reduced the amount of radiation-induced apoptosis significantly at concentrations of 0.01 μM and 1 μM. In contrast, vitamin C did not show any protective effect when given at these two concentrations and caused a slight but significant radiosensitization at 100 μM. At 0.01 μM, all combinations of two vitamins showed a protective effect. This was also observed for the combination of all three vitamins at concentrations of 0.01 and 1 μM. When given immediately after irradiation, each of the three vitamins showed a protective effect at 0.01 μM. In addition, the combination of alpha-tocopherol and vitamin C reduced radiation-induced apoptosis slightly when given at 1 μM. In all other cases, no statistically significant modulation of radiation-induced apoptosis was observed. In our experimental system, the protective effect of beta-carotene and vitamin E was dependent on concentration and occurred only in the micromolar and sub-micromolar concentration range, while vitamin C alone, but not in combinations, had a sensitizing effect, thus arguing for a careful consideration of vitamin concentrations in clinical settings.
The many-sided biological role of vitamin C (ascorbate) is briefly illustrated by specific examples. It is demonstrated that in aqueous solutions, vitamin C emits solvated electrons (e(aq)(-)), when excited in single state. Vitamin C can also react with e(aq)(-) as well as transfer them to other biological systems and thereby acts as efficient electron mediator. Based on its chemical and biological properties, it is clear that vitamin C plays a very important role in various functions in the organism alongside biochemical processes.
