An Interstellar Synthesis of Glycerol Phosphates

Abstract Glycerol phosphates define key molecules pertaining to the Origin of Life question and represent the essential stereo-dictating unit of phospholipids that may self-assemble in aqueous media into prebiotic cell membranes. However, the prebiotic formation pathways to glycerol phosphate have remained elusive to date. In this Letter, we expose a facile pathway toward the abiotic synthesis of glycerol phosphate isomers in phosphine (PH 3 ) doped interstellar analog ices of methanol (CH 3 OH), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), or water (H 2 O) upon exposure to energetic electrons as a proxy of secondary electrons generated by the penetration of Galactic cosmic rays into interstellar ices at 10 K. The synthetic routes proposed here overcome obstacles of terrestrial-based scenarios that are inhibited by the low solubility of phosphates in water and the unfavorable nature of phosphorylation reactions in aqueous solution, thus revealing a potential pathway to prebiotic glycerol phosphates.