XL CICLO | Mancin Eleonora

I am a PhD student in Ecology and Sustainable Management of Environmental Resources at the University of Tuscia, specializing in Green Chemistry. My research focuses on prebiotic chemistry and the role of minerals in the origin of life, utilizing alternative experimental models to the Urey-Miller experiment. i investigate the stereoselectivity of amino acid synthesis and the abiotic formation of biologically relevant molecules under various energy sources, including electric discharge and photothermal reactions. With a strong background in industrial biotechnology, i has contributed to research projects such as Exo-Mars, exploring peptide nucleic acid derivatives under Martian conditions, and BIOPLAST, developing nanostructured biofillers from natural polyphenols. My expertise includes organic synthesis, chromatography, spectroscopic analysis, and green chemistry applications. Mywork aims to deepen our understanding of abiogenesis and develop novel methodologies with potential biomedical and astrobiological applications.

Abiogenesis requires the availability of fundamental molecular precursors, including nucleic bases, amino acids, sugars, lipids, and carboxylic acids. Their synthesis can occur under various energetic conditions, such as UV radiation, electric discharges, and volcanic activity. The role of minerals in prebiotic processes has been increasingly recognized, with the Lavoisier-Lomonosov Theory proposing a bridge between the mineral world and biological life. The discovery of formamide as a key intermediate in prebiotic synthesis has highlighted the influence of mineral catalysis, demonstrating that different minerals facilitated the formation of essential organic precursors. Recent studies have shown that formamide and HCN derivatives can undergo multicomponent reactions to synthesize hybrid RNA-protein molecules. This project will explore new models of prebiotic synthesis of RNA-protein hybrids, such as PNA, using multicomponent chemistry in the presence or absence of heterogeneous catalysts, testing various energetic conditions.

• Cesarini, S., Vicenti, I., Poggialini, F., Filippi, S., Mancin, E., Fiaschi, L., … & Botta, L. (2024). Serendipitous Identification of Azine Anticancer Agents Using a Privileged Scaffold Morphing Strategy. Molecules, 29(7), 1452.
• Mancin, E., Capecchi, E., Botta, L., & Bizzarri, B. M. (2024). Multicomponent Synthesis of C (8)‐Substituted Purine Building Blocks of Peptide Nucleic Acids from Prebiotic Compounds. ChemistryOpen, 13(12), e202400265.