Role of metal ferrocyanides in chemical evolution

Adsorption of several ribose and 2-deoxyribose 5-nucleotides on zinc- and copper ferrocyanides has been studied at a neutral pH of 7.01. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was used to determine the values of K_L and X_m. Both types of nucleotides, ribose and 2-deoxyribose, showed similar adsorption behavior on zinc- and copper ferrocyanides. Zinc ferrocyanide showed larger adsorption as compared to copper ferrocyanide. Purine nucleotides adsorbed more than pyrimidine nucleotides on both the metal ferrocyanides probably because of an additional binding site in the imidazole ring in purines. Results of the present study suggest the importance of metal ferrocyanides and metal ions in stabilization of nucleotides during processes of prebiotic condensation reactions.