On the spontaneous abiotic peptization of phenylglycine in an aqueous medium

In this report we provide thin-layer chromatographic evidence that phenylglycine dissolved in 70% aqueous ethanol and kept at ambient temperature (22 degree C) undergoes spontaneous peptization, as additionally confirmed by use of the biuret test. It was also shown that an important precondition for instantaneous peptization of phenylglycine is the simultaneous presence of the R and S antimers in solution, and the most spectacular peptization effect is obtained with racemic R,S-phenylglycine. An assumption is made that polycondensation of phenylglycine results from its ability to undergo spontaneous oscillatory chiral conversion and can be regarded as a step following enolization, and competitive with chiral conversion.