At a research lab in the city of Hefei, in southeastern China’s Anhui province, a team of scientists has managed to create amino acids – the building block of life – using only air and water.
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The experiment in August could offer a new approach to eco-friendly chemical production, according to the researchers.
The research also indicated a potential for more complicated molecules, such as proteins, the project’s lead scientist Zeng Jie, from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), said on Monday.
Amino acids, the fundamental components of proteins, play a crucial role in living organisms and the researchers were looking for another way to synthesise glycine – the simplest stable amino acid.
Traditional methods of synthesising glycine have relied heavily on petroleum-derived products such as aldehydes and cyanides. These methods not only consume a significant amount of energy but also produce substantial waste, leading to environmental pollution.
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The elements carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, essential for amino acids, can all be sourced from carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen and oxygen in the air.