The reactions of methanimine and cyanogen with carbon monoxide in prebiotic molecular evolution on earth.

A primeval atmosphere is proposed containing simple molecules such as formaldehyde, ammonia, carbon monoxide, cyanogen and hydrogen cyanide, which have been detected in space. Chemical reactions are described for the formation of aziridine-2-one and di-azirine-3-one derivatives as potential precursors for the original synthesis of amino-acids, proteins, pyrimidines, purines, nicotinamide and flavin. The reactions have been shown to be kinetically feasible from the overall enthalpy changes in the ZKE approximation at the MP2/6-31G* level.