azotosome

From azote (“nitrogen”) +‎ -o- +‎ -some (“body”), from French azote (“nitrogen”) and Ancient Greek σῶμα (sôma, “body”), a "nitrogen body", formed by analogy with liposome.

azotosome (plural azotosomes)

1. (chemistry) A theoretical nitrogen-based counterpart to liposome structures composed of acrylonitrile self-assembled membrane in a liquid methane bath
   • 2015 February 27, James Stevenson, Jonathan Lunine, Paulette Clancy, “Membrane alternatives in worlds without oxygen: Creation of an azotosome”, in Science Advances‎:

     This procedure is necessary because of the azotosomes’ high barriers to decomposition.

   • 2015 July 17, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Alexander Schulze-Makuch, Joop M. Houtkooper, “The Physical, Chemical and Physiological Limits of Life”, in Life‎, volume 5, number 3, pages 1472–86:

     Furthermore, Stevenson et al. [51] recently suggested membranes composed of small organic nitrogen compounds, azotosomes that would be capable of forming and functioning in liquid methane at cryogenic temperatures.

   • 2017 July 28, Mareen Y. Palmer, “ALMA detection and astrobiological potential of vinyl cyanide on Titan”, in Science Advances‎, volume 3, number 7:

     Confirmation of the presence of vinyl cyanide on Titan is especially interesting with respect to the possibility of cell membrane–like azotosomes.

• liposome