UCLA Chemists Challenge A 100-Year Rule That May Change The Face Of Pharma Industry
Last Updated:November 03, 2024, 16:00 IST
For a long time, scientists thought molecules could not have a carbon-carbon double bond at the bridge spot of a bicyclic molecule. This idea is called Bredt’s rule and it’s been in textbooks since 1924.
UCLA team used silyl halide molecules and triggered a reaction that created these new ABOs. (Representative Image)
Chemists at UCLA have found a big problem in the core principles of organic chemistry. They have disproven a key rule that’s stood unchallenged for a century and suggest that their latest findings call for a textbook update. Organic chemistry, the study of carbon-based molecules, involves rules about how atoms connect to make molecules. Some molecules, called olefins (or alkenes), have two carbon atoms bonded with a double bond, which makes them flat or two-dimensional in structure.
For a long time, scientists thought molecules could not have a carbon-carbon double bond at the bridge spot of a bicyclic molecule. This idea is called Bredt’s rule and it’s been in textbooks since 1924. This rule stated that putting a double bond on this bridge spot would make the molecule too twisted and unstable. Due to this, chemists have always avoided trying to make these kinds of molecules, limiting their research in drug discovery.
Olefins are useful in pharmaceutical research and the study findings could pave the way for development of new drugs. “There’s a big push in the pharmaceutical industry to develop chemical reactions that give three-dimensional structures like ours because they can be used to discover new medicines,” said Neil Garg, the UCLA professor who led this research.
The UCLA team has published a paper against the rule in their journal ‘Science’. The new research has shown this rule isn’t as solid as it seemed. They figured out how to make these so-called “impossible” molecules with the double bond on the bridge. They call these anti-Bredt olefins (ABOs). What’s exciting is that creating these ABOs could lead to new ways to develop medicines or other valuable chemical products.
To do this, the UCLA team used a clever chemical process. They started with a type of molecule called a silyl halide, added another ingredient, and triggered a reaction that created these new ABO molecules. Since ABOs are unstable, they added an extra chemical to “trap” or stabilise them, making it possible to study and use these molecules.
Neil Garg explained that rules like Bredt’s rule can hold back creativity if scientists see them as unbreakable. Now that they know it can be broken, it opens up exciting new possibilities for chemistry. “We shouldn’t have rules like this—or if we do, they should be seen as guidelines rather than unbreakable laws. Rules like these limit creativity by suggesting certain things are impossible when they’re not,” Garg added.
News viral UCLA Chemists Challenge A 100-Year Rule That May Change The Face Of Pharma Industry
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