Comets are chemically rich and thermally extreme, spanning surface temperatures from ~50 K in the Oort Cloud to >1000 K for sungrazing bodies. These conditions may support key steps of prebiotic chemistry, including the synthesis of nucleic acid precursors. This study present a thermodynamic evaluation of seven candidate reactions, producing nitrogenous bases, sugars, nucleosides, and nucleotides, across the cometary temperature spectrum, 50–1000 K. Purine nucleobase synthesis, including adenine formation via aminoacetonitrile polymerization and HCN polymerization, is strongly exergonic at all temperatures. Sugar formation from formaldehyde is also exergonic, while intermediate pathways, e.g., 2-aminooxazole synthesis, become thermodynamically viable only above ~700 K. Nucleoside formation is thermodynamically neutral at low T but becomes favorable at elevated temperatures, whereas phosphorylation to AMP, i.e., adenosine-monophosphate, a nucleotide serving as a critical regulator of cellular energy status, remains highly endergonic under the entire T range studied. My analysis suggests that, under standard-state assumptions, comets can thermodynamically support formation routes of nitrogenous bases and simple sugars but not a complete nucleotide assembly. This supports a dual-phase origin scenario, where comets act as molecular reservoirs, with further polymerization and biological activation occurring post-delivery on planetary surfaces. Importantly, these findings represent purely thermodynamic assessments under standard-state assumptions and do not address kinetic barriers, catalytic influences, or adsorption effects on ice or mineral surfaces. The results should therefore be viewed as a baseline map of feasibility, subject to modifications in more complex chemical environments.
Luca Tonietti (Sat,) studied this question.