Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Poster Session I

BP 14.25: Poster

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 10:00–12:30, P3

Formation of thermally driven pH gradients from salts — •Riccardo Schiroli, Thomas Matreux, and Christof B. Mast — Systems Biophysics, LMU München, Munich, Germany

The impact of pH on biomolecule stability and chemical reactions suggests its crucial role in prebiotic chemistry. Thermophoresis, the movement of molecules along a thermal gradient, has been shown to accumulate and select a wide range of biomolecules, including RNAs and amino acids as well as different salt species leading in specific conditions to the emergence of pH gradients.

In this study, we investigated the formation of heat flow driven pH gradients in simulated rock fissures under various experimental conditions, including different salt solutions, initial pH values, and temperature gradients. Ion chromatography, combined with complexation techniques and fluorescent analysis, was used to analyze the distribution of ions and pH profiles within the fissures.

Our findings show that heat flows can efficiently induce pH gradients in solutions containing various salt species. We observed significant accumulation of common ions, leading to pH gradients in both alkaline and acidic solutions. Furthermore, we found that certain metal ions, such as lanthanides and iron, can significantly enhance the formation of pH gradients, even at micromolar concentrations. This study provides evidence for the role of heat flows in creating localized pH gradients under prebiotically plausible conditions. Our results highlight the ease with which pH gradients can form under a wide range of prebiotic plausible conditions, driven by simple heat flows.

Keywords: Thermophoresis; Prebiotic Chemistry; pH gradients