Galena–proteinoid catalysis in prebiotic systems

This study looks at the electrochemical and physical properties of galena (PbS) crystals. It also examines how these crystals interact with proteinoid microspheres. The goal is to explore their uses in unconventional computing, prebiotic chemistry, and consciousness studies. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study different galena forms. These included dendritic, cubic, and star-shaped mesocrystals. Our findings showed how they crystallized, ranging from diffusion-limited growth to Ostwald ripening. Proteinoid interactions with galena created unique microsphere shapes and polymer chains. This showed that minerals can catalyze polymerization at the interface between organic and inorganic materials. Electrochemical analyses showed that galena-proteinoid mixtures perform better at higher frequencies. They respond well at 15.58 MHz, while pure galena only reacts at 12.61 MHz. They also show unique patterns in channel-specific responsivity. Square wave voltammetry revealed that galena enhances electron transfer at higher frequencies, with current increasing by 57% from 2 Hz to 50 Hz. Heatmaps, clustering, and dimensionality reduction revealed unique logical states in galena-proteinoid systems. These states are important for unconventional computing. These findings show that mineral-proteinoid interfaces are good platforms for studying bioelectrical phenomena. They are important for understanding how information was processed in early life. Also, they provide experimental platforms for exploring bio-inspired signal processing in the MHz frequency range, which shows phenomenological similarities to neural oscillations, though without direct biological equivalence.