Homochiral Selection in a Non-equilibrium Process: Origin of Life

Abstract

Chemistry and therefore life is a manifestation of the electromagnetic interaction which cannot distinguish rightfrom left, and all chemical reactions in the absence of an external chiral bias produce equal amounts of right and left-handed molecules. Nevertheless, the living matter is chiral biased and generally constituted of only one of the enantiomers, right handed or left handed. The origin of biochemical chirality remains an unresolved problem believed to be concurrent or an essential prerequisite to origion of life. Most hypotheses attempting to understand this issue, attribute homochiral selection to a biasing influence and presupposition that asymmentry can be begotten onlyfrom asymmetry. A system in thermodynamic equilibrium in the absence of a constant external chiral influence is indeed racemic and contain equal proportions of both enantiomers. Living systems and the origin of life itself are not equilibrium situations and could deviate from racemicity. A mathematical model ispresented to show that any enant iomeric selfreplicating molecule created in the racemic prebiotic medium can proliferate exhausting all precursor molecules of both handedness. The homo chirality of life is a continuation of this non-equilibrium process.