Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41537004›Full record

ArticleiScience2026

Metal-ion mediated photolytic regulation of diphenylalanine stability: Implications for prebiotic chemical evolution.

Wei Tang, Xingyi Shi, Jianxun Shen, Haotian Mao, Erjun Wei, Biling Huang, Jianxi Ying, Huahuan Cai, Yufen Zhao

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Wei TangQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Xingyi ShiQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Jianxun ShenCenter for Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
Haotian MaoSchool of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
Erjun WeiQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Biling HuangQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Jianxi YingQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Huahuan CaiQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Yufen ZhaoQian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistry and Space Life Sciences, Institute of Drug Discovery Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Early Earth's UV-rich environment, together with abundant transition metals, likely shaped the stability of biomolecules. We investigated how cations influence the UV (254 nm) stability of diphenylalanine (FF). Among nine geologically relevant cations examined, Cu(Ⅱ) and Fe(Ⅲ) exhibited significantly different photolytic effects, Fe(Ⅲ) accelerated FF degradation, and Cu(Ⅱ) stabilized FF. Other metal ions had a minimal impact on FF stability. Mechanistic investigations revealed that Cu(Ⅱ) preferentially binds to the amide nitrogen, whereas Fe(Ⅲ) coordinates, primarily through oxygen atoms, significantly perturb the electron distribution of the phenyl and amide groups, thereby enhancing their susceptibility to hydroxyl radical attack. EPR spectroscopy further confirmed that Fe(Ⅲ) produces substantially higher levels of ⋅OH than Cu(Ⅱ), implicating ROS as the key driver of degradation. By uncovering cation-specific mechanisms of photodegradation, this study provides a physicochemical framework for understanding how metal ions may have influenced the selection and accumulation of proto-biomolecules in early chemical evolution.

Indexed as

Analytical chemistryBiochemistryChemical reactionGeochemistry

Identifiers

PMID41537004
PMCPMC12796767

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.