Understanding the Origins of Prebiotic Chemistry

The International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy (ISMS) is an annual conference in molecular spectroscopy. ISMS features presentations from world-renowned scientists alongside talks from graduate students, while covering topics spanning theory and experiment, diverse spectral regions, and applications in fields such as astronomy and atmospheric science. The meeting also includes specialized mini-symposia that highlight emerging areas of interest in the field.

Miguel Sanz-Novo is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich, Germany.² He previously served as a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Fellow at Centro de Astrobologia and a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad de Valladolid.²

As part of our coverage of the ISMS 2026 Conference, Spectroscopy spoke to Sanz-Novo about his ongoing research and what he will be speaking about at ISMS.

Your research focuses on complex organic molecules (COMs) and sulfur-bearing molecules in star-forming regions. Why are these molecules considered important in understanding the origins of prebiotic chemistry and the emergence of life?

For the broad audience, complex organic molecules, which are essentially carbon-based molecules containing six or more atoms, are simply fascinating because some of them are considered to be direct precursors of fundamental building blocks for life as we know it on Earth. When we detect molecules such as glycolamide, which is an isomer of glycine, we are basically constraining what is the chemical inventory that was available before planets even form.

The presence of these types of molecules shows us the chemistry leading to more complex key prebiotic species, such as amino acids and nuclear bases, but even phospholipids begin very early in the star formation cycle. Potentially, this material could have been inherited, delivered to Earth through the impact of comet asteroid meteorites.

Sulfur is a key element for light that is present in all types of biomolecules, highlighting its role in the folding activity of proteins, but yet the chemistry of sulfur is not fully understood. The intestinal chemistry of sulfur, and one particularly relevant example in this context was the detection of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) because these molecules are not only relevant from a prebiotic point of view, but also in the search for life elsewhere in space. DMS was considered until quite recently as a unique or robust biomarker in the search for extraterrestrial life elsewhere, but we detected this particular molecule in the inert interstellar medium, suggesting that we cannot consider this molecule anymore as a biomarker, or at least a unique marker, because it can essentially form abiotically and quite efficiently in space.

You study the chemistry of the interstellar medium across multiple stages of star formation, from molecular clouds to protoplanetary disks. How does the chemical composition evolve throughout these stages, and what insights does this provide into planet formation?

A star’s formation can essentially be seen as a chemical journey, so it begins in cold, dark molecular clouds, where very simple molecules freeze out on the surface of interstellar dust rings. Then, the chemical complexity is slowly built up, mainly through surface reactions with some help from additional gas phase routes. However, the problem is that there is a current gap in our knowledge regarding what the chemical inventory is that is found in the earliest stages of star formation in this molecular cloud. The rich reservoir of key prebiotic species that have also been discovered in the minor bodies of our solar system include asteroids, comets, and meteorites, and these include a wide array of key prebiotic molecules, mainly amino acids.

We are trying to address this gap by tracing the chemistry throughout the star formation cycle. In particular, my work is focused on these earliest stages in molecular clouds; in particular in one molecular cloud, one shock to the molecular cloud is located in the center of the Milky Way. It's a shocked environment that essentially helps us and provides us a snapshot of the chemistry that is occurring on the surface of these industrial grains because of the action of shocks, the grain mantles are essentially released into the gas, so the point here is that many of the molecules that we detect in space have not been discovered so far. These are first detections that the work that we do, and also the work that the many colleagues in the in the field do. Each single detection really expands our understanding on what the chemistry looks like, how complex it can be, and also, more importantly, what are the raw materials that planets would potentially inherit throughout this star formation cycle.

Your group combines astronomical observations with quantum chemical calculations and astrochemical modeling. How do these interdisciplinary approaches complement one another in identifying and characterizing molecules in space?

I believe that this interdisciplinarity is one of the key aspects, and it's really the core of what makes our approach and also the approach of other groups in the field so powerful because we mainly detect molecules using their rotational fingerprints, so the specific frequencies at which every single molecule emits radiation. To do so, we use radio telescopes, but in order to know what we are looking for and what these frequencies are, we first need to characterize the molecule in the laboratory. We need to get this molecular fingerprint, and we need to characterize and measure the rotational spectra of each particular species of each molecule in the laboratory. Then, we have parallel quantum chemical calculations play a crucial bridging role because they first help us guide these laboratory searches, but they also allow us to rationalize how the molecules are formed or destroyed by using astrochemistry. Interestingly, this cycle is iterative, so every time we detect a new molecule, we typically want to go back to the lab to expand the spectroscopy a little bit to characterize these species even further. In some cases, we also study related molecules, and with the new theoretical work, it often provides new candidates for future industrial detection, so it's a nice interplay between the different pillars of the field.

Advanced observational platforms such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are central to your work. What unique capabilities do these instruments provide for studying interstellar chemistry, and what recent discoveries have been especially exciting for your team?

I would say that ALMA has been transformative for the field of astrochemistry in general because it has superb sensitivity and special resolution. This allows us to map the distribution of molecules across different environments. Nevertheless, much of our work towards these galactic center clouds relies on single-disk observations or observations using single antenna, which have recently added broadband receivers to their tools.

One example, for instance, is the ultra-broadband receiver that has been installed in the Yebes 40-meter radio telescope, one antenna that is located in Spain. Basically, it allows us to cover the whole Q at once, so between 30 and 50 gigas. Probably one of the most exciting discoveries for me personally would be the detection of a sulfur-bearing cycle, so a six-member, sulfur-bearing ring that we detected recently this year that appears in Nature Astronomy was the largest sulfur-beam molecule that has been found so far in the interstellar medium. It’s also a beautiful connection between the chemistry of these early stages of star formation, these molecular clouds, and the rich content of sulfur species that have been found in the in the minor bodies. It also highlights how harmonized laboratory theoretical and observational work can help us really push the frontiers of chemical complexity in the in the industrial media

Congratulations on winning the Miller Prize. Would you be able to offer a preview of what you will be speaking about at the conference?

The Miller Prize is a great honor, especially coming from a community that I deeply admire. I think that ISMS is probably the home conference for people who work in the interface between spectroscopy and astrochemistry, so given the opportunity of delivering a talk, there is really something that I'm generally excited about. In my talk, I'll try to take the audience on a chemical journey toward the limits of chemical complexity. I’ll quickly present what is the strategy behind some of these new discoveries and how combine the laboratory work with this theory with the observational tools. Then, I’ll walk through some of the latest discoveries and explain what they tell us, what they are, and their implications in the context of interstellar chemistry.

What should young researchers do to maximize their time at ISMS?

For me personally, I think that ISMS is one of the most intellectually stimulating conferences that I regularly attend. I think the key to maximizing your time there is to be actively present in the different discussions, so don't be afraid to ask any type of question or to be involved in the conversations that also happen around the conference during coffee breaks, during lunch, dinners, and so on because to me, I'll say that some of the most productive collaborations have even started in some of these interactions.

My specific advice for young researchers would be to first do your homework before you arrive at the conference, so try to map what sessions that you are more interested in. Try to also attend some sessions that are outside your specific field of research. Don’t be shy and don't be afraid of introducing yourself to people, especially to speakers whose work you truly admire because in general, most of the people in this conference is happy to talk in general. And finally, if you are presenting a talk there, I suggest that you really invest some time in preparing your talk, preparing your slides, and preparing your presentation because ISMS in general has a good tradition of nice talks, and you could even apply for some prizes if you are a student.

References

1. ISMS, 79th International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy. Illinois.edu. Available at: https://isms.illinois.edu/ (Accessed June 8th, 2026).
2. LinkedIn, Miguel Sanz-Novo. LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguel-sanz-novo-960935248/ (Accessed June 11, 2026).