Radiolysis of adenine and its complementary bases in aqueous solutions and clay suspensions

The aim of this work is to establish whether the presence of a solid surface during the radiolysis of complementary nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, and uracil), such as a clay mineral, alters the bases' stability in comparison with samples of these molecules without the mineral. An additional aim is to study the possible role of clays as protective agents for biologically relevant organic molecules in scenarios of early Earth. The results show that the adsorbed bases onto clay could receive higher irradiation doses with less decomposition than the samples without clay. The irradiation was carried out in a gamma source with irradiation doses up 280 kGy. (author)