Raman spectroscopic study of the complex aromatic mineral idrialite

Raman spectra were obtained on crystals of idrialite, a complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mineral. The presence of several major components based on benzonaphthofluorene, benzopicene and benzoindenofluorene in the spectra was confirmed by mass spectroscopy, and preliminary molecular vibrational assignments have been made from which key spectral signatures can be used in a database of biomolecular indicators. The survival of novel organic minerals such as idrialite in the geological record is important for an appreciation of the diversity of molecular compounds that need to be assessed in the search for life detection in terrestrial and extraterrestrial scenarios. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.