Chemists make ‘impossible’ molecules that break 100-year-old bonding rule

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03538-4

By Gemma Conroy

Chemists have achieved a breakthrough by creating anti-Bredt olefins (ABOs), molecules once thought too unstable to exist. This discovery challenges a century-old rule about chemical bonding and opens up new possibilities in drug development. Using milder reactions, researchers synthesized these rare molecules and turned them into complex compounds, offering a new way to create challenging drug candidates. ABOs also show promise in producing enantioenriched compounds, which are key in pharmaceutical development. This groundbreaking work could lead to innovative methods for synthesizing complex drugs like paclitaxel, used in chemotherapy.