Chemistry Publications

James P. Ferris -- Selected Publications

Related to Clay Mineral Catalysis of RNA Synthesis

Mineral catalysis and prebiotic synthesis: Montmorillonite-catalyzed formation of RNA, 2005, James P. Ferris, Elements, 1, 145-149.[PDF].

Catalysis and Selectivity in Prebiotic Synthesis: Initiation of the Formation of Oligo(U)s on Montmorillonite Clay by Adenosine-5'-methylphosphate, 2005, Kong-Jiang Wang and James P. Ferris, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 35, 185-226.[PDF].

Catalysis in Prebiotic Chemistry: Application to RNA Synthesis, 2004 J. P. Ferris, P. C. Joshi, K.-J. Wang, S. Miyakawa and W. Huang, Adv. Space Res.33, 100-105.

Sequence- and Regio-Selectivity in the Montmorillonite-catalyzed Synthesis of RNA, 2003, Shin Miyakawa and James P. Ferris, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125, 8202-8208.

Synthesis of 35-40 mers of RNA Oligomers from Unblocked Monomers. A simple approach to the RNA world, 2003, Wenhua Huang and James P. Ferris, Chem. Commun. 1458-1459.

Cations as Mediators of the Adsorption of Nucleic Acids on Clay Surfaces in Prebiotic Environments, 2003, Marco Franchi, James P. Ferris and Enzo Gallori, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 33, 1-16.

Montmorillonite Catalysis of RNA Elongation: Laboratory Demonstration of Potential Steps in the Origin of the RNA World, 2002, James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolutions of the Biosphere, 32, 311-332.

The Rates of Hydrolysis of Thymidyl-3', 5'-Thymidine-H-Phosphonate: The Possible Role of Nucleic Acids Linked by Diesters of Phosphorous Acid in the Origins of Life, 2001, John R. Peyser and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 31, (4/5) 363-380. [PDF].

Effect of Inhibitors on the Montmorillonite Clay-catalyzed Formation of RNA: Studies on the Reaction Pathway, 2001, Kong-Jiang Wang and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 31, (4/5) 381-402.[PDF].

Sequence- and Regio-Selectivity in the Montmorillonite-catalyzed Synthesis of RNA, Gözen Ertem and James P. Ferris, 2000, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 30, 411-422. [PDF].

Homochiral Selection in the Montmorillonite-catalyzed and Uncatalyzed Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA, Prakash C. Joshi, Stefan Pitsch and James P. Ferris, 2000, Chem. Commun., 2497-2498. [PDF].

Oligomerization Reactions of Ribonucleotides on Montmorillonite: Reaction of the 5'-Phosphorimidazolide of Adenosine, Ferris, J. P. and Ertem, G., Science, 1992, 257, 1387-1389.

Montmorillonite Catalysis of RNA Oligomer Formation in Aqueous Solution. A Model for the Prebiotic Formation of RNA, Ferris, J. P. and Ertem, G., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1993, 115, 12270-12275.

Catalysis and Prebiotic RNA Synthesis, Ferris, J. P., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1993, 23, 307-315.

Kinetic and Mechanistic Analysis of Dinucleotide and Oligonucleotide Formation from the 5'-Phosphorimidazolide of Adenosine on Na+-Montmorillonite, Kawamura, K. and Ferris, J. P., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1994, 116, 7564-7572.

Effect of Phosphate Activating Group on Oligonucleotide Formation on Montmorillonite: The Regioselective Formation of 3',5'-Linked Oligoadenylates, Prabahar, K. J., Cole, T. D. and Ferris, J. P., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1994, 116, 10914-10920.

Synthesis of RNA Oligomers on Heterogeneous Templates, Ertem, G. and Ferris, J. P., Nature, 1996, 379, 238-240.

Synthesis of Long Prebiotic Oligomers on Mineral Surfaces, Ferris, J. P., Hill, A. R., Liu, R. and Orgel, L. E., Nature, 1996, 381, 59-61.

Oligomerization of Uridine Phosphorimidazolides on Montmorillonite: A Model for the Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA on Minerals, Ding, P. Z., Kawamura, K., and Ferris, J. P., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1996, 26, 151-171.

Adenosine Derivatives as Phosphate-Activating Groups for the Regioselective Formation of 3',5'-Linked Oligoadenylates on Montmorillonite: Possible Phosphate-Activating Groups for the Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA, Prabahar, K. J., and Ferris, J. P., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1997, 119, 4330-4337.

Template-Directed Synthesis Using the Heterogeneous Template Produced by Montmorillonite Catalysis: A Possible Bridge Between the Prebiotic and RNA Worlds, Ertem, G., and Ferris, J. P., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1997, 119, 7197-7201.

Effect of Dinucleoside Pyrophosphates on the Oligomerization of Activated Mononucleotides on Na+-Montmorillonite; Reaction of the 5'-Phosphoro-4-(dimethylamino)pyridinium[4-(CH3)2NPypA] with A5'ppA. Prabahar, K. J. and Ferris, J. P., 1997, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 27, 513-523.

Formation of RNA Oligomers on Montmorillonite: Site of Catalysis. Ertem, G. and Ferris, J. P., 1998, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 28, 485-499.

Synthesis of RNA Oligomers and Their Template Properties. Ertem, G. and Ferris, J. P., 1998, Viva Origino, 26, 203-218.

Prebiotic Synthesis on Minerals: Bridging the Prebiotic and RNA Worlds. Ferris, J. P., 1999, Biol. Bull. 196, 311-314.

The Synthesis of the First Polyribonucleotides: The Role of Catalysis. Ferris, J. P., 1999, ChemTracts-Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 12, 419-431.

Primitive Life, Origin, Size, and Signature, Ferris, J. P., Proceedings of the Workshop on the Size Limits of Very Small Life, National Academy Press, Space Studies Board, Washington, DC, 1999.

Clay Catalysis of Oligonucleotide Formation: Kinetics of the Reaction of the 5'-Phosphorimidazolides of Nucleotides Containing the Non-Basic Heterocycles Uracil and Hypoxanthine, Kawamura, K. and Ferris, J. P., Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 29, 563-591 (1999).

Related to Photochemical Planetary Reactions (Mainly Jupiter and Titan)

The Role of Photochemistry in Titan's Atmospheric Chemistry, 2005, James Ferris, Buu Tran, Jeffrey Joseph, Veronique Vuitton, Robert Briggs, and Michael Force, Adv. Space Res. 36, 251-257.[PDF].

Photochemical Processes on Titan. Irradiation of Mixtures of Gases that Simulate Titan's Atmosphere, 2005, Buu Tran, Jeffrey C. Joseph, Michael Force, Robert C. Briggs, Veronique Vuitton and James P. Ferris, Icarus 177, 106-115.[PDF].

Simulation of Titan Haze Formation using a Photochemical Flow Reactor. The Optical Constants of the polymer, 2003, B. N. Tran, J. C. Joseph, J. P. Ferris, P. D. Persans, and J. J. Chera, Icarus, 165, 379-390.

The Photochemical Formation of a Titan Haze Analog. Structural Analysis by X-Ray Photoelectron and Infrared Spectroscopy, 2003, Buu. N. Tran, James P. Ferris and John J. Chera, Icarus, 162, 114-124.

The Design and Use of a Photochemical Flow Reactor for the Laboratory Study of Atmospheric Chemistry: Photochemical Reactions of Cyanoacetylene, D. W. Clarke, J. C. Joseph and J. P. Ferris, 2000, Icarus, 147, 282-291.[PDF].

The Role of Cyanoacetylene in the Atmospheric Chemistry of Titan, Ferris, J. P. and Clarke, D. W., Icarus, 1995, 115, 119-125.

Mechanism of Cyanoacetylene Photochemistry at 185 and 254 nm, Clarke, D. W. and Ferris, J. P., J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 1996, 101, 7575-7584.

Potential Jupiter Atmospheric Constitutents: Candidates for the Mass Spectrometer in the Galileo Atmospheric probe, Wang, F., Keane, T. and Ferris, J. P., Icarus, 1996, 122, 205-207.

Chemical Evolution on Titan: Comparisons to Prebiotic Earth, Clarke, D. W. and Ferris, J. P., Origins Lfe Evol. Biosphere, 1997, 27, 225-248.

Structure and Properties of Cyanoacetylene Photopolymers: Relevance to Titan's Haze, Clarke, D. W. and Ferris, J. P., Icarus, 1997, 127, 158-172.

The Design and Use of a Photochemical Flow Reactor for the Laboratory Study of Atmospheric Chemistry: Photochemical Reactions of Cyanoacetylene, Clarke, D. W., Joseph, J. C. and Ferris, J. P., submitted.

Regioselectivity of the Photochemical Addition of Ammonia, Phosphine and Silane to Olefinic and Acetylenic Nitriles, Guillemin, J.-C., Breneman, C. M., Joseph, J. C. and Ferris, J. P., 1998, Chem. Eur. J., 4, 1074-1082.

Related to Marine Hydrothermal Sytems

Marine Hydrothermal Systems and the Origin of Life: Chemical Markers of Prebiotic Chemistry in Hydrothermal Systems, Ferris, J. P., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1992, 22, 109-134.

Marine Hydrothermal Systems and the Origin of Life: Future Research, Holm, N. G., Cairns-Smith, A. G., Daniel, R. M., Ferris, J. P., Hennet, R. J. C., Shock, E. L., Simoneit, B. R. T. and Yanagawa, H., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1992, 22, 181-190.

Related to Interstellar Synthesis of Prebiotic Molecules

Photochemical Reactions in Interstellar Grains, Photolysis of CO, NH3 and H2O, Agarwal, V. K., Schutte, W., Greenberg, J. M., Ferris, J. P., Briggs, R., Conner, S., Van De Bult, C. P. E. M. and Bass, F., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1985, 16, 21-40.

Comet Halley as an Aggregate of Interstellar Dust and Further Evidence for the Photochemical Formation of Organics in the Interstellar Medium, Briggs, R., Ertem, G., Ferris, J. P., Greenberg, J. M., McCain, P. J., Mendoza-Gomez, C. X., Schutte, W., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1992, 22, 287.

Related to HCN and the Origins of Life

The Mechanism of the Oligomerization of HCN and Its Possible Role in the Origins of Life, Ferris, J. P., Donner, D. B., Lotz, W., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1972, 94, 6968.

HCN: A Plausible Source of Purines, Pyrimidines and Amino Acids on the Primitive Earth, Ferris, J. P., Joshi, P. C., Edelson, E. H., Lawless, J. G., J. Mol. Evol., 1978, 11, 293-311.

Chemical Evolution from HCN: The Photochemical Decarboxylation of Orotic Acid and Orotate Derivatives, Ferris, J. P. and Joshi, P. C., Science, 1978, 201, 361-362.

Chemical Evolution 31: Mechanism of the Condensation of Cyanide to HCN Oligomers, Ferris, J. P. and Edelson, E. H., J. Org. Chem., 1978, 43, 3989-3995.

The Effect of Clays on the Oligomerization of HCN, Ferris, J. P., Edelson, E. H., Mount, N. M., Sullivan, A. E., J. Mol. Evol., 1979, 13, 317-330.

Structural Studies on HCN Oligomers, Ferris, J. P., Edelson, E. H., Auyeung, J. M., Joshi, P. C., J. Mol. Evol., 1981, 17, 69-77.

Chemical Evolution 40: Clay-Mediated Oxidation of Diaminomaleonitrile, Ferris, J. P., Hagan, W. J., Alwis, K. W., McCrae, J., J. Mol. Evol., 1982, 18, 304-309.

The Investigation of the HCN Derivative Diiminosuccinonitrile as a Prebiotic Condensing Agent: The Formation of Phosphate Esters, Ferris, J. P., Yanagawa, H., Dudgeon, P. A., Hagan, W. J., Jr., Mallare, T. E., Origins Life Evol. Biosphere, 1984, 15, 29-43.

Reviews, Symposia Volumes, Book Chapters

Catalysis and prebiotic synthesis, 2005, James P. Ferris, in Molecular Geomicrobiology, J. F. Banfield, J. Cervini and K. M. Nealson, eds. (Chantilly, VA, Mineralogical Society of America). pp. 187-210.

Origins of life, molecular basis of, Ferris, J. P., in Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, R. A. Meyers, Ed., Weinheim, Germany, Wiley-VCH Verlag, 2005, pp. 1-27.

From Building Blocks to the Polymers of Life, James P. Ferris, 2002. Life's Origins. The Beginning of Biological Evolution, J. W. Schopf (Ed.), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, pp. 113-139.

Origins of Life, Ferris, J. P., and Usher, D. A., in "Biochemistry" (edited by G. Zubay), Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1983, pp. 1190-1241.

HCN and Chemical Evolution, Ferris, J. P., and Hagan, W. J., Jr., Tetrahedron, 1984, 40, 1093-1120.

The Chemistry of the Life's Origins, Chem. Eng. News, Ferris, J. P., August 27, 1984, pp. 23-35.

The Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres and That of the Primitive Earth, Ferris, J. P., Organic Photochemistry, 1987, 8, 1-65.

Prebiotic Synthesis - Problems and Challenges, Ferris, J. P., Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 1987, 52, 29-35.

Prebiotic Synthesis on Minerals: RNA Oligomer Formation, Ferris, J. P., in "The Chemistry of Life's Origins," (J. M. Greenberg, C. X. Mendoza-Gomez and V. Pirronello, eds.) Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 1993, pp. 301-320.

The Prebiotic Synthesis and Replication of RNA Oligomers: The Transition from Prebiotic Molecules to the RNA World, Ferris, J. P., in Proceedings of the NATO Workshop "Self Reproduction of Supramolecular Structures", G. R. Fleischaker, S. Colonna and P. L. Luisi, editors, pp. 89-98 (1994).

Catalyzed RNA Synthesis for the RNA World in The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle, J. P. Ferris, Andre Brack ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998, pp. 255-268.

Primitive Life, Origin, Size, and Signature, Ferris, J. P., Proceedings of the Workshop on the Size Limits of Very Small Life, National Academy Press, Space Studies Board, Washington DC, 1999.

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