2024-03-29T08:37:32Zhttps://uvadoc.uva.es/oai/requestoai:uvadoc.uva.es:10324/463042021-10-15T08:05:05Zcom_10324_1158com_10324_931com_10324_894col_10324_1242
Detection of Potential Lipid Biomarkers in Oxidative Environments by Raman Spectroscopy and Implications for the ExoMars 2020-Raman Laser Spectrometer Instrument Performance
Carrizo, Daniel
Muñoz Iglesias, Victoria
Fernández Sampedro, María Teresa
Gil Lozano, Carolina
Sánchez García, Laura
Prieto Ballesteros, Olga
Medina García, Jesús
Rull Pérez, Fernando
The aim of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover mission is to search for potential traces of present or
past life in the swallow subsurface (2m depth) of Mars. The ExoMars rover mission relies on a suite of
analytical instruments envisioned to identify organic compounds with biological value (biomarkers) associated
with a mineralogical matrix in a highly oxidative environment. We investigated the feasibility of detecting basic
organics (linear and branched lipid molecules) with Raman laser spectroscopy, an instrument onboard the
ExoMars rover, when exposed to oxidant conditions. We compared the detectability of six lipid molecules
(alkanes, alkanols, fatty acid, and isoprenoid) before and after an oxidation treatment (15 days with hydrogen
peroxide), with and without mineral matrix support (amorphous silica rich vs. iron rich). Raman and
infrared spectrometry was combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to determine detection
limits and technical constraints. We observed different spectral responses to degradation depending on the
lipid molecule and mineral substrate, with the silica-rich material showing better preservation of organic
signals. These findings will contribute to the interpretation of Raman laser spectroscopy results on cores
from the ExoMars rover landing site, the hydrated silica-enriched delta fan on Cogoon Vallis (Oxia Planum).
2021-04-20T16:38:28Z
2021-04-20T16:38:28Z
2021-04-20T16:38:28Z
2020
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Astrobiology, Marzo 2020, Vol. 20, n. 3. p. 405-414.
1531-1074
http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/46304
10.1089/ast.2019.2100
405
3
414
Astrobiology
20
1557-8070
eng
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.