The paper extends a previously published report [4] on chemical properties of a -amino nitriles and of members of the C3H,N2 ensemble (Scheme I ) as observed in experiments carried out under non-aqueous conditions. The reactions investigated and the observations made are summarized in some detail in the English footnotes (*) referring to Schemes 1-17 and Fig. 1. Schenw 3 *) QCN H 18 CN QCN NC 19 H NC iN NHz HN flyN HzN 15 21 1 *) Retrosynthetic analysis of the structural relationship between the nitrile form of 1,4-dihydronicotinamide, and the glutamic and aspartic acid dinitriles. The relationship rests on the equivalence of glutamic acid dinitrile and acrolein imine under thermal conditions. *) Uber eine potentiell prabiotische Bildung von Asparaginsaure aus Cyanoacetylen mit HCN, NH3 in H,O vgl. Sanchez et ul. [lo]. 9, Eine Variante der Herstellung von 20 aus 22 und 4-Oxobutannitril ist in [4] beschrieben.Scheme 5 *) 2217 *) Hypothetical reaction paths to products in the FVP of (E/Z)-19 and 20. Within this framework of structural transformations, the nitrile form of 1,4-dihydronicotinamide is at the same oxidation level as the ensemble of the dinitrile forms of glutamic and aspartic acids. e-") Gestutzt wird diese Interpretation der Reaktionsmechanismen durch die Beobachtung, dass auch die hier nicht explizit beschriebene Pyrolyse des strukturvenvandten N-Propenylidenasparagindinitril (3-Azahexa-3,5-dien-1,2-dicarbonitril) zu den gleichen isolierbaren Produkten, ausschliesslich 26 und 27, fuhrt, wahrend die Pyrolyse von N-(I-Cyanoethy1iden)glutamindinitril (cl-Azahex-4-en-l,3,5-tricarbonitril) nur 26 und 29und 5-Methylpyrrol-2-carbonitril liefert (121, S . 62,68, 188, 199).