  The composition of ice grains provides an important tool for the study of the
molecular environment of star forming regions. Using ISAAC at the VLT to obtain
spectra around 4.65 microns we have detected for the first time `XCN' and CO
ice in an extragalactic environment: the nuclear region of the nearby dusty
starburst/AGN galaxy NGC4945. The profile of the solid CO band reveals the
importance of thermal processing of the ice while the prominence of the XCN
band attests to the importance of energetic processing of the ice by FUV
radiation and/or energetic particles. In analogy to the processing of ices by
embedded protostars in our Galaxy, we attribute the processing of the ices in
the center of NGC4945 to ongoing massive star formation. Our M-band spectrum
also shows strong HI Pfund-beta and H2 0-0 S(9) line emission and gas phase CO
absorption lines. The HI, H2, PAH, gas phase CO and the ices seem to be
embedded in a rotating molecular disk which is undergoing vigorous star
formation. Recently, strong OCN- absorption has been detected in the spectrum
of the Galactic center star GC:IRS19. The most likely environment for the OCN-
absorption is the strongly UV-exposed GC molecular ring. The presence of
processed ice in the center of NGC4945 and our Galactic center leads us to
believe that processed ice may be a common characteristic of dense molecular
material in star forming galactic nuclei.
