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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1Cite as

Aminoacetonitrile

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Synonyms

AAN; Cyanomethylamine; Glycinonitrile; NH2CH2CN

Definition

Aminoacetonitrile (IUPAC name 2-Aminoacetonitrile) is a (toxic) liquid at room temperature and standard pressure. It is a precursor of the simplest amino acid, glycine, which it forms by reaction with liquid water. It is also an intermediary in the Strecker synthesis of glycine. It was identified in the interstellar medium in 2008.

History

Although its rotational spectrum has been studied since the 1970s, and modeled explicitly for a search in the interstellar medium in 1990, aminoacetonitrile has only been detected recently in space, in a large molecular cloud Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) at the center of the Galaxy (Belloche et al. 2008).

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References and Further Reading

  • Belloche A, Menten KM, Comito C, Müller HSP, Schilke P, Ott J, Thorwirth S, Hieret C (2008) Detection of amino acetonitrile in Sgr B2(N). Astron Astrophys 482:179–196

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire de Bordeaux, 2 r de l’Observatoire, BP 89, 33270, Floirac, France

    Didier Despois

Authors
  1. Didier Despois
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Correspondence to Didier Despois .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Despois, D. (2014). Aminoacetonitrile. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1880-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1880-6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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