Vinyl Cyanide Membrane

Recent simulations have indicated that vinyl cyanide is the best candidate molecule for the formation of cell membranes vesicle structures in titan s hydrocarbon rich lakes and seas.

Vinyl cyanide membrane.

The sheet could form a hollow microscopic sphere that they dubbed an azotosome. Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula ch 2 chcn. They proposed that vinyl cyanide molecules could come together as a sheet of material similar to a cell membrane. Although the existence of vinyl cyanide c2h3cn on titan was previously inferred using cassini mass spectrometry a definitive detection has been lacking until now.

Going by mass alone there s enough. The study that details their findings titled alma detection and astrobiological potential of vinyl cyanide on titan was published in the july 28th issue of the journal science advances. The compound might be suitable for cell membranes. The chemical vinyl cyanide was discovered on titan by astronomer maureen palmer and a team of researchers at nasa goddard.

It is a colorless volatile liquid although commercial samples can be yellow due to impurities. To further investigate the role of vinyl cyanide on titan scientists will need to conduct more laboratory simulations study membrane formation in methane rich environments and keep combing. Palmer says there is enough vinyl cyanide on titan to form up to 30 million cell membranes per cubic centimetre of liquid in one of the hazy moon s largest seas. In terms of its molecular structure it consists of a vinyl group linked to a nitrile it is an important monomer for the manufacture of useful plastics such as polyacrylonitrile.

Molecular modeling studies of a variety of molecules containing these elements showed that vinyl cyanide was the molecule most likely to form a stable and flexible membrane that acts like earth based membranes under titan s conditions. Still the fact that vinyl cyanide has the theorized ability to form membranous balls is even more tantalizing now that we know how abundant it is on titan. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions.