Radiation chemical aspects of the origins of life

A review is presented on the abiotic synthesis of amino acids and purine and pyrimidine bases in processes involving the action of high energy radiation. It is shown that all the 20 proteinogenic amino acids and a selection of non-proteinogenic amino acids are able to survive to 14 MGy, equivalent to the calculated dose received by these molecules in 4.6 billions of years buried in comets and asteroids. Even the enantiomeric enrichment is preserved after 14 MGy. The review is closed with some considerations on the role which could be played by radiation-induced polymerization with enhancement of optical activity or occurring at very low temperatures with a tunneling mechanism, in the abiotic synthesis of information macromolecules.