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Methyl isocyanate (CH$_{3}$NCO) and glycolonitrile (HOCH$_{2}$CN) are isomersand prebiotic molecules that are involved in the formation of peptidestructures and the nucleobase adenine, respectively. ALMA observations of theintermediate-mass Class 0 protostar Serpens SMM1-a and ALMA-PILS data of thelow-mass Class 0 protostar IRAS~16293B are used. Spectra are analysed with theCASSIS line analysis software package in order to identify and characterisemolecules. CH$_{3}$NCO, HOCH$_{2}$CN, and various other molecules are detectedtowards SMM1-a. HOCH$_{2}$CN is identified in the PILS data towards IRAS~16293Bin a spectrum extracted at a half-beam offset position from the peak continuum.CH$_{3}$NCO and HOCH$_{2}$CN are equally abundant in SMM1-a at [X]/[CH$_{3}$OH]of 5.3$\times$10$^{-4}$ and 6.2$\times$10$^{-4}$, respectively. A comparisonbetween SMM1-a and IRAS~16293B shows that HOCH$_{2}$CN and HNCO are moreabundant in the former source, but CH$_{3}$NCO abundances do not differsignificantly. Data from other sources are used to show that the[CH$_{3}$NCO]/[HNCO] ratio is similar in all these sources within $\sim$10\%.The new detections of CH$_{3}$NCO and HOCH$_{2}$CN are additional evidence fora large interstellar reservoir of prebiotic molecules that can contribute tothe formation of biomolecules on terrestrial planets. A plausible formationpathway for HOCH$_{2}$CN is the thermal Strecker-like reaction of CN$^{-}$ withH$_{2}$CO. The similar [CH$_{3}$NCO]/[HNCO] ratios indicate that these twospecies either are chemically related or their formation is affected byphysical conditions in the same way. The relatively high abundances ofHOCH$_{2}$CN and HNCO in SMM1-a may be explained by a prolonged stage ofrelatively warm ice mantles, where thermal and energetic processing of HCN inthe ice results in the efficient formation of both species.

The prebiotic molecular inventory of Serpens SMM1 I. An investigation of the isomers CH$_{3}$NCO and HOCH$_{2}$CN