The ratio between the two stable isotopes of nitrogen, 14 N and 15 N, is well measured in the terrestrial atmosphere (∼ 272), and for the pre-Solar nebula (∼ 441, deduced from the Solar wind). Interestingly, some pristine Solar System materials show enrichments in 15 N with respect to the pre-Solar nebula value. However, it is not yet clear if, and how, these enrichments are linked to the past chemical history, due to the limited number of measurements in dense star-forming regions. In this respect, dense cores believed to be precursors of clusters containing also intermediate-and high-mass stars are important targets, as the Solar System was probably born within a rich stellar cluster. The number of observations in such high-mass dense cores has remained limited so far. In this work, we show the results of IRAM-30m observations of the J=1-0 rotational transition of the molecules HCN and HNC, and their 15 N-bearing counterparts, towards 27 intermediate/high-mass dense cores divided almost equally in three evolutionary categories: high-mass starless cores, high-mass protostellar objects, and ultra-compact Hii regions. We have also observed the DNC(2-1) rotational transition, in order to search for a relation between the isotopic ratios D/H and 14 N/ 15 N. We derive average 14 N/ 15 N ratios of 359±16 in HCN and of 438±21 in HNC, with a dispersion of about 150-200. We find no trend of the 14 N/ 15 N ratio with the evolutionary stage. This result agrees with what found from N 2 H + and its isotopologues in the same sources, although the 14 N/ 15 N ratios from N 2 H + show a dispersion larger than that in HCN/HNC. Moreover, we have found no correlation between D/H and 14 N/ 15 N in HNC. These findings indicate that: (1) the chemical evolution does not seem to play a role in the fractionation of nitrogen; (2) the fractionation of hydrogen and nitrogen in these objects are not related.

Cell membranes are a key element of life because they keep the genetic material and metabolic machinery together. All present cell membranes are made of phospholipids, yet the nature of the first membranes and the origin of phospholipids are still under debate. We report here the presence of ethanolamine in space, NH2CH2CH2OH, which forms the hydrophilic head of the simplest and second-most-abundant phospholipid in membranes. The molecular column density of ethanolamine in interstellar space is N = (1.51± 0.07)× 1013 cm−2, implying a molecular abundance with respect to H2 of (0.9−1.4) × 10−10. Previous studies reported its presence in meteoritic material, but they suggested that it is synthesized in the meteorite itself by decomposition of amino acids. However, we find that the proportion of the molecule with respect to water in the interstellar medium is similar to the one found in the meteorite (10−6). These results indicate that ethanolamine forms efficiently in space and, if delivered onto early Earth, could have contributed to the assembling and early evolution of primitive membranes.

Context. Carbon fractionation has been studied from a theoretical point of view with different models of time-dependent chemistry, including both isotope-selective photodissociation and low-temperature isotopic exchange reactions. Aims. Recent chemical models predict that isotopic exchange reactions may lead to a depletion of 13C in nitrile-bearing species, with 12C/13C ratios two times higher than the elemental abundance ratio of 68 in the local interstellar medium. Since the carbon isotopic ratio is commonly used to evaluate the 14N/15N ratios with the double-isotope method, it is important to study carbon fractionation in detail to avoid incorrect assumptions. Methods. In this work, we implemented a gas-grain chemical model with new isotopic exchange reactions and investigated their introduction in the context of dense and cold molecular gas. In particular, we investigated the 12C/13C ratios of HNC, HCN, and CN using a grid of models, with temperatures and densities ranging from 10 to 50 K and 2 × 103 to 2 × 107 cm−3, respectively. Results. We suggest a possible 13C exchange through the 13C + C3 → 12C +13CC2 reaction, which does not result in dilution, but rather in 13C enhancement, for molecules that are formed starting from atomic carbon. This effect is efficient in a range of time between the formation of CO and its freeze-out on grains. Furthermore, the parameter-space exploration shows, on average, that the 12C/13C ratios of nitriles are predicted to be a factor 0.8–1.9 different from the local 12C/13C of 68 for high-mass star-forming regions. This result also affects the 14N/15N ratio: a value of 330 obtained with the double-isotope method is predicted to vary in the range 260–630, up to 1150, depending on the physical conditions. Finally, we studied the 12C/13C ratios of nitriles by varying the cosmic-ray ionisation rate, ζ: the 12C/13C ratios increase with ζ because of secondary photons and cosmic-ray reactions.