Prebiotic Condensing Agents

Cyanamide and its derivatives and condensed polyphosphates probably acted as condensing agents promoting the non-enzymatic synthesis and polymerization of several biotic molecules: amphiphiles, peptides and nucleic acids, on an early Earth. This book chapter briefly summarizes the roles of condensing agents with attention to their prebiotic chemical origins and their role as fundamental bricks for biotic molecules' origins.