Aminoacetonitrile, H2NCH2CN, has been sought for in the interstellar medium for a long time since it is a possible precursor of aminoacetic acide, aka glycine, the simplest amino acide. Very recently, it finally has been detected in the famous massive star-forming region Sagittarius B2(N) in the course of a molecular line survey in the 3mm frequency domain with additional observations at 2 and 1 mm carried out with the IRAM 30m radiotelescope supplemented with interferometric observations using ATCA and PdB:
A. Belloche, K. M. Menten, C. Comito, H. S. P. Müller, P. Schilke, J. Ott, S. Thorwirth, and C. Hieret,
Detection of Aminoacetonitrile in Sgr B2(N)
Astron. Astrophys. 482, (2008) 179–196.
Erratum
Astron. Astrophys. 492, (2008) 769–773.
A press release is also available, not only in English, but also in German.
Contributor(s): H. S. P. Müller; 01, 2008; 04, 2009