New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules

Searching for organics in extraterrestrial environments, especially biomolecules, continues to be a notable challenge for in situ missions. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an ultrasound (US)-assisted reactor for extraction of amino acids, which complies with space constraints.. The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ramzi Timoumi, Rihab Fkiri, Prince Amaniampong, Guillaume Rioland, Brian Gregoire, Pauline Poinot, Claude Geffroy-Rodier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725001956
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850102957409828864
author Ramzi Timoumi
Rihab Fkiri
Prince Amaniampong
Guillaume Rioland
Brian Gregoire
Pauline Poinot
Claude Geffroy-Rodier
author_facet Ramzi Timoumi
Rihab Fkiri
Prince Amaniampong
Guillaume Rioland
Brian Gregoire
Pauline Poinot
Claude Geffroy-Rodier
author_sort Ramzi Timoumi
collection DOAJ
description Searching for organics in extraterrestrial environments, especially biomolecules, continues to be a notable challenge for in situ missions. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an ultrasound (US)-assisted reactor for extraction of amino acids, which complies with space constraints.. The optimal duration for in situ extraction was set at 10 min, using a mixture of water and methanol (1:1, v/v). Compared to 24 h hot water extraction, a 10-min US extraction at 2.4 MHz or 20 kHz enable 80 % of the amino acid recovery from the Mukundpura meteorite and 100 % recovery was achieved when US-assisted extraction was performed three times. Subsequently, the 10-min US extraction at 2.4 MHz was performed in the presence of methyl chloroformate, a derivatisation agent necessary for the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of amino acids. This simultaneous extraction-derivatisation method, lasting 10 min, enabled the recovery of 80 % of the amino acid content relative to that attainable using the extraction followed by derivatisation method. This simple, rapid, and efficient method enables for the first time the the extraction and detection of amino acids from rock samples. Detection of such biomolecules on planetary or comets surfaces will be a major advance in the understanding of the origins of the first building blocks.
format Article
id doaj-art-e29e53cd7d914e939557402fb2197dc4
institution DOAJ
issn 1350-4177
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
spelling doaj-art-e29e53cd7d914e939557402fb2197dc42025-08-20T02:39:39ZengElsevierUltrasonics Sonochemistry1350-41772025-08-0111910741610.1016/j.ultsonch.2025.107416New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomoleculesRamzi Timoumi0Rihab Fkiri1Prince Amaniampong2Guillaume Rioland3Brian Gregoire4Pauline Poinot5Claude Geffroy-Rodier6UMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FranceUMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FranceUMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FranceCentre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Service Laboratoires & Expertise, 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, CEDEX 9, 61401 Toulouse, FranceUMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FranceUMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, FranceUMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France; Corresponding author at: UMR CNRS 7285, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP), E.BiCoM Team, 4 rue Michel-Brunet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers cedex 9, France.Searching for organics in extraterrestrial environments, especially biomolecules, continues to be a notable challenge for in situ missions. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an ultrasound (US)-assisted reactor for extraction of amino acids, which complies with space constraints.. The optimal duration for in situ extraction was set at 10 min, using a mixture of water and methanol (1:1, v/v). Compared to 24 h hot water extraction, a 10-min US extraction at 2.4 MHz or 20 kHz enable 80 % of the amino acid recovery from the Mukundpura meteorite and 100 % recovery was achieved when US-assisted extraction was performed three times. Subsequently, the 10-min US extraction at 2.4 MHz was performed in the presence of methyl chloroformate, a derivatisation agent necessary for the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of amino acids. This simultaneous extraction-derivatisation method, lasting 10 min, enabled the recovery of 80 % of the amino acid content relative to that attainable using the extraction followed by derivatisation method. This simple, rapid, and efficient method enables for the first time the the extraction and detection of amino acids from rock samples. Detection of such biomolecules on planetary or comets surfaces will be a major advance in the understanding of the origins of the first building blocks.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725001956MicroreactorOne-step ultrasound-assisted extraction and derivatisationAmino acidMeteorite
spellingShingle Ramzi Timoumi
Rihab Fkiri
Prince Amaniampong
Guillaume Rioland
Brian Gregoire
Pauline Poinot
Claude Geffroy-Rodier
New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
Microreactor
One-step ultrasound-assisted extraction and derivatisation
Amino acid
Meteorite
title New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
title_full New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
title_fullStr New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
title_full_unstemmed New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
title_short New ultrasound-assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
title_sort new ultrasound assisted microreactor for extracting extraterrestrial biomolecules
topic Microreactor
One-step ultrasound-assisted extraction and derivatisation
Amino acid
Meteorite
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417725001956
work_keys_str_mv AT ramzitimoumi newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT rihabfkiri newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT princeamaniampong newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT guillaumerioland newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT briangregoire newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT paulinepoinot newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules
AT claudegeffroyrodier newultrasoundassistedmicroreactorforextractingextraterrestrialbiomolecules