Chemistry:Diaminomaleonitrile

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Diaminomaleonitrile
Diaminomaleonitrile.svg
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
(2Z)-2,3-Diaminobut-2-enedinitrile
Other names
2,3-Diaminomaleonitrile; Hydrogen cyanide tetramer
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
UNII
Properties
C4H4N4
Molar mass 108.104 g·mol−1
Melting point 178–179 °C (352–354 °F; 451–452 K)[1]
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references
Tracking categories (test):

Diaminomaleonitrile (DAMN) is an organic compound composed of two amino groups and two nitrile groups bonded to a central alkene unit. The systematic name reflects its relationship to maleic acid.

The chemical can be formed by polymerization of hydrogen cyanide and can be used as the starting point for the synthesis of several classes of heterocyclic compounds. Therefore, it has been considered as a possible organic chemical present in prebiotic conditions.[2]

History

Diaminomaleonitrile was first isolated in 1873 as a black solid, when it was recognized as a polymer of hydrogen cyanide with the formula (HCN)x.[3] It was identified as the tetramer (HCN)4 by ebullioscopy in 1923.[4] The cis-configuration of the amino groups was shown in 1928 through reaction with glyoxal to give 2,3-diaminopyrazine, and the full structure was shown in 1955 to be diaminomaleonitrile, as opposed to the isomeric aminoiminosuccinonitrile (AISN).[5]

DAMN Strukturvarianten.svg

Role in abiogenesis

Diaminomaleonitrile has been proposed since the 1960s as a key substance for the prebiotic synthesis of nucleobases. Photochemical rearrangement of DAMN under UV light gives 4-aminoimidazole-5-carbonitrile (AICN), which can react further to form various nucleobases.[6][7]

Purinbasen aus DAMN.svg

Early experiments have also suggested that certain amino acids, such as aspartic acid, alanine, and glycine, may have their probiotic origins in the acidic hydrolysis of diaminomaleonitrile.[8][9]

Due to the ubiquity of hydrogen cyanide and its oligomers in space, it has been proposed that the dark material found in comets may consist of diaminomaleonitrile and higher oligomers, and that such polymers of HCN may have covered the surface of the early Earth.[10][11]

References

  1. "Diaminomaleonitrile". Sigma-Aldrich. http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/163880?lang=en. 
  2. Al-Azmi, A.; Elassar, A.-Z. A.; Booth, B. L. (2003). "The Chemistry of Diaminomaleonitrile and its Utility in Heterocyclic Synthesis". Tetrahedron 59 (16): 2749–2763. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(03)00153-4. 
  3. Lange, O. (1873). "Ueber eine neue Verbindung von der Zusammensetzung der Cyanwasserstoffsäure" (in en). Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft 6 (1): 99–101. doi:10.1002/cber.18730060139. ISSN 0365-9496. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cber.18730060139. 
  4. Bedel, C. (1923). "Sur un polymère de l'acide cyanhydrique". Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences: 168–171. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k31295/f168.item. 
  5. Webb, Richard L.; Frank, S.; Schneider, W. C. (1955). "The Structure of HCN Tetramer" (in en). Journal of the American Chemical Society 77 (13): 3491–3493. doi:10.1021/ja01618a021. ISSN 0002-7863. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja01618a021. 
  6. Roy, Debjani; Najafian, Katayoun; von Ragué Schleyer, Paul (2007-10-30). "Chemical evolution: The mechanism of the formation of adenine under prebiotic conditions" (in en). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (44): 17272–17277. doi:10.1073/pnas.0708434104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 17951429. 
  7. Jeilani, Yassin Aweis; Williams, Phoenix N.; Walton, Sofia; Nguyen, Minh Tho (2016). "Unified reaction pathways for the prebiotic formation of RNA and DNA nucleobases" (in en). Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 18 (30): 20177–20188. doi:10.1039/C6CP02686A. ISSN 1463-9076. PMID 27220279. http://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=C6CP02686A. 
  8. Moser, R.E.; Claggett, A.R.; Matthews, C.N. (1968). "Peptide formation from diaminomaleonitrile (hcn tetramer)" (in en). Tetrahedron Letters 9 (13): 1599–1603. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(01)99011-2. PMID 5640452. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0040403901990112. 
  9. Matthews, Clifford N. (1995). "Hardware and software in biology: Simultaneous origin of proteins and nucleic acids via hydrogen cyanide polymers" (in en). Journal of Biological Physics 20 (1–4): 275–281. doi:10.1007/BF00700445. ISSN 0092-0606. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF00700445. 
  10. Matthews, Clifford N. (1991). "Dark matter in the solar system: Hydrogen cyanide polymers" (in en). Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 21 (5–6): 421–434. doi:10.1007/BF01808312. ISSN 0169-6149. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF01808312. 
  11. Matthews, Clifford N.; Minard, Robert D. (2006). "Hydrogen cyanide polymers, comets and the origin of life" (in en). Faraday Discussions 133: 393-401; discussion 427-52. doi:10.1039/b516791d. ISSN 1359-6640. PMID 17191459. http://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=b516791d.