Mechanochemistry in Prebiotic Research

The relevance of mechanochemical reactivity in the prebiotic chemical evolution and its transfer to sustainable and low-emission chemical production

Project examines prebiotic chemistry that uses mechanochemistry (mechanical forces such as grinding or impact) to simulate conditions on early Earth and synthesize the molecular building blocks of life, such as amino acids, sugars, peptides, nucleotides, and nucleosides. It highlights reactions such as polymerization and the formation of complex molecules that are thermodynamically unfavorable in solution.

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Key Publications

5. M. Duvnjak, N. Vidović, K. Užarević, G. Horvat, V. Tomišić, G. Speranza, N. Cindro, Rapid and Green Anion-Assisted Mechanochemical Peptide Cyclization, ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. (2025) 13, 30–35; https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c03309

4. M. R. Hafner, N. Pantalon Juraj, K. Flint, H. Wiltsche, H. Wolinski, H. Amenitsch, C. J. Doonan, K. Užarević, F.Carraro, Vapor-Assisted Mechanochemical Synthesis of Enzyme and Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework Biocomposites, Small (2025) 21, 2504744; https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202504744

3. T. Stolar, B. K. D. Pearce, M. Etter, K.-N. Truong, T. Ostojić, A. Krajnc, G. Mali, B. Rossi, K. Molčanov, I. Lončarić, E. Meštrović, K. Užarević, L. Grisanti, Base-pairing of uracil and 2,6-diaminopurine: from cocrystals to photoreactivity, iScience (2024) 27, 109894; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.109894

2. T. Stolar, J. Alić, I. Lončarić, M. Etter, D. Jung, O. K. Farha, I. Đilović, E. Meštrović, K. Užarević, Sustainable solid form screening: mechanochemical control over nucleobase hydrogen-bonded organic framework polymorphism, Crystengcomm (2022) 24, 6505–6511; https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CE00668E

1. T. Stolar, S. Grubešić, N. Cindro, E. Meštrović, K. Užarević, J. G. Hernández, Mechanochemical Prebiotic Peptide Bond Formation, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (2021) 60, 12727–12731; https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202100806

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