Aminoacetonitrile is a simple organic compound containing both nitrile

Nitrile

A nitrile is any organic compound that has a -C≡N functional group. The prefix cyano- is used interchangeably with the term nitrile in industrial literature. Nitriles are found in many useful compounds, one example being super glue .Inorganic compounds containing the -C≡N group are not called...

 and amino groups. It is somewhat similar to the simplest amino acid

Amino acid

Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

, glycine

Glycine

Glycine is an organic compound with the formula NH2CH2COOH. Having a hydrogen substituent as its 'side chain', glycine is the smallest of the 20 amino acids commonly found in proteins. Its codons are GGU, GGC, GGA, GGG cf. the genetic code.Glycine is a colourless, sweet-tasting crystalline solid...

. This compound is commercially available as the chloride and sulfate salts.

Occurrence

In 2008, aminoacetonitrile was discovered in the Large Molecule Heimat, a giant gas cloud near the galactic center in the constellation Sagittarius

Sagittarius (constellation)

Sagittarius is a constellation of the zodiac, the one containing the galactic center. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is , a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur drawing a bow...

 by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy

Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy

The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy is located in Bonn, Germany. It is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society .-History:...

. This discovery is significant to the debate on whether glycine exists widely in the universe.

Weblinks

Property data at the National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST