Search for glycine in the solar type protostar IRAS 16293-2422

We report the first search for line emission from one of the simplest amino acids, glycine, from a solar type protostar, IRAS16293-2422. Previous sear ches for glycine have been carried out on bright massive star formation reg ions, so far without success. Recent observations show that although less l uminous, solar type protostars also harbor complex molecules and may even b e more favorable than massive protostars for the formation and survival of complex molecules. We did not detect any emission associated with glycine from IRAS16293-2422. Based on these observations, we claim that the glycine column density is l ess than similar to 5 x 10(12) cm(-2). Using information we have on the str ucture of the envelope surrounding IRAS16293-2422, we derive an upper limit to the glycine abundance of similar to 1 x 10(-10) in the cold outer envel ope and similar to 7 x 10(-9) in the hot core, respectively These observati ons challenge recent theoretical estimates of glycine abundance in solar ty pe protostars.