Amino acids from the late Precambrian Thule group, Greenland.

Amino acids were recovered at concentration level of 10-9 M/g from the interior of chert and dolomite of the Late Precambrian Thule Group. Examination of the stability of amino acids in chert under dry-heating conditions suggests that these amino acids have been preserved with a predominance of L-enantiomers in the precambrian chert. Enantiomer analysis of amino acids in dolomite showed a thermal effect resulting from a late precambrian igneous intrusion. This evidence indicates that the amino acids isolated from the Thule samples were chemical fossils and not recent contaminants.