A cyanopolyyne is an organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

 that contains a chain of one or more carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

-carbon triple bond

Triple bond

A triple bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two chemical elements involving six bonding electrons instead of the usual two in a covalent single bond. The most common triple bond, that between two carbon atoms, can be found in alkynes. Other functional groups containing a triple bond are...

s alternating with single bonds and ending with a cyanide

Cyanide

A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....

 functional group

Functional group

In organic chemistry, functional groups are specific groups of atoms within molecules that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reaction regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of...

. The simplest example is cyanoacetylene

Cyanoacetylene

Cyanoacetylene is an organic compound with formula or H-C≡C-C≡N. It is the simplest cyanopolyyne. Cyanoacetylene has been detected by spectroscopic methods in interstellar clouds, in the coma of comet Hale–Bopp and in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan....

, H−C≡C−C≡N.

Cyanopolyynes are relatively common in interstellar cloud

Interstellar cloud

Interstellar cloud is the generic name given to an accumulation of gas, plasma and dust in our and other galaxies. Put differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the interstellar medium. Depending on the density, size and temperature of a given cloud, the hydrogen in it...

s, where they were first detected around 1970. Members up to were detected in the Taurus Molecular Cloud 1

Taurus Molecular Cloud 1

The Taurus molecular cloud 1 is a giant molecular cloud in the constellation of Taurus.The cloud is notable for containing many complex molecules, including cyanopolyynes HCnN for n=3,5,7,9....

, where they are believed to be formed by reaction of atomic nitrogen

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

 with hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

s. For a while, held the record as the largest molecule detected in interstellar space, but its identification was challenged.

Cyanoacetylene is one of the molecules that was produced in the Miller-Urey experiment

Miller-Urey experiment

The Miller and Urey experiment was an experiment that simulated hypothetical conditions thought at the time to be present on the early Earth, and tested for the occurrence of chemical origins of life. Specifically, the experiment tested Alexander Oparin's and J. B. S...

.