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Front Cover: Analysis of inorganic cations and amino acids in high salinity samples by capillary electrophoresis and conductivity detection: Implications for in‐situ exploration of ocean worlds
Author(s) -
Ferreira Santos Mauro Sergio,
Cordeiro Thiago Gomes,
Noell Aaron C.,
Garcia Carlos D.,
Mora Maria F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.201870181
Subject(s) - enceladus , astrobiology , saturn , amino acid , habitability , seawater , chemistry , front cover , salinity , extraterrestrial life , icy moon , capillary electrophoresis , geology , cover (algebra) , oceanography , chromatography , planet , physics , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , astrophysics , engineering
DOI: 10.1002/elps.201800266 The cover picture shows inorganic salts (represented by NaCl crystal) and amino acids, important biosignatures in the search for extraterrestrial life. As in Earth's oceans, samples from Ocean Worlds such as Europa (Jupiter's moon) and Enceladus (Saturn's moon) are expected to contain high amounts of salts. We have developed an analytical method (bottom trace) capable of simultaneous determination of inorganic salts and amino acids, regardless the sample salinity. This method could be used in future missions targeting Ocean Worlds to determine the concentration of salts, to evaluate habitability, as well as to identify samples with potential biosignatures.