Vinyl Cyanide Membrane

The chemical vinyl cyanide was discovered on titan by astronomer maureen palmer and a team of researchers at nasa goddard.

Vinyl cyanide membrane.

It is a colorless volatile liquid although commercial samples can be yellow due to impurities. Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula ch 2 chcn. 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. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions.

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. 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. 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. Although the existence of vinyl cyanide c2h3cn on titan was previously inferred using cassini mass spectrometry a definitive detection has been lacking until now.

The compound might be suitable for cell membranes. Still vinyl cyanide based life like any other would face challenging circumstances on titan. Going by mass alone there s enough. Vinyl cyanide found on titan aliens have at it.

In the right conditions vinyl cyanide could form cell membranes. They proposed that vinyl cyanide molecules could come together as a sheet of material similar to a cell membrane. The sheet could form a hollow microscopic sphere that they dubbed an azotosome.