First Detection of the Glycine Isomer Glycolamide in Hot Molecular Core

Understanding whether prebiotic molecules can endure and reform through the energetic stages of star formation is essential for tracing the continuity of interstellar chemistry toward life. Glycolamide, an isomer of glycine, was recently detected in the molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027.

Glycine — Wikipedia

However, establishing its presence in warm, high-density environments is crucial to evaluate the chemical continuity of amides. Here we report the first detection of glycolamide in a hot molecular core, G358.93-0.03 MM1, using ALMA 1 mm observations. Seven unblended or only mildly blended emission lines were identified, yielding an abundance of (1.7±0.2)×10⁻¹⁰ relative to H₂.

The comparable formamide/glycolamide and acetamide/glycolamide abundance ratios in both sources suggest a chemically connected amide network across different environments. These results demonstrate that amides can persist and chemically evolve during massive star formation, tracing the chemical continuity from interstellar to protostellar environments.

Chunguo Duan, Fengwei Xu, Qian Gou, Xuefang Xu, Donghui Quan, Laurent Pagani, Xi Chen, Jun Kang, Jiaxin Du

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Submitted to A&A and under review
Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Cite as: arXiv:2603.23170 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2603.23170v1 [astro-ph.GA] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.23170
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Submission history
From: Chunguo Duan
[v1] Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:12:06 UTC (8,570 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23170
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,