Photostability of Isovaline and its Precursor 5-Ethyl-5-methylhydantoin Exposed to Simulated Space Radiations

Aqueous solutions of isovaline and its precursor molecule, 5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin, were irradiated with ultraviolet and gamma-ray photons, to evaluate their structural stability against space radiation. The degree of photolysis was measured and irradiation products were identified using chiral, reversed-phase and ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. The experimental results show that the degree of photolysis of 5-ethyl-5-methylhydantoin is more significant than that of isovaline under ultraviolet light irradiation, while the results under gamma-ray irradiation are the opposite. As the products of isovaline photolysis, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and alanine were dominantly detected.