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Amino Acid Racemization Dating
 
Sean D. Pitman M.D.
 
© August,2004
All living things use proteins as buildingblocks in the construction of their physicalforms. In turn, proteins are composed of folded strands of 20 different smaller subunits called "amino acids". All aminoacids, except for one (glycine), come in twodifferent forms known as the levoratory (L -left) and dextrorotary (D - right) forms.These two forms are called"enantiomers", "chirals", or "stereoisomers", which basically meansthat they have the same molecular andstructural formula but cannot besuperimposed on each other no matter how they are oriented in space. In other words, they are like one's left and right hands,which are mirror images of each other, but cannot be superimposed onto one another.
 
What is especially interesting about these two L- and D-forms, at least for thepurposes of this topic, is that the vast majority of living things only use the L-form.However, as soon as the creature dies, the L-amino acids start to spontaneously convertto the D-form through a process called "racemization". If the rate of conversion can bedetermined, this process of racemization might be useful as a sort of "clock" to determinethe time of death.
 
 
Basic Assumptions
In order to use the rate of racemization as a clock toaccurately estimate when aliving thing died, one mustknow how variousenvironmental factors may have affected the rate of change from the L- to the D-form. Asit turns out, this rate, which is different for each type of amino acid, is also exquisitelysensitive to certain environmental factors. These include:1. Temperature2.Amino acid composition of the protein3. Water concentration in the environment4. pH (acidity/alkalinity) in the environment5. Bound state versus free state6. Size of the macromolecule, if in a boundstate
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