Chemists at UCLA have discovered a flaw in one of organic chemistry’s longstanding principles, challenging a rule that's guided synthetic chemistry for a century. Known as Bredt’s rule, the principle suggests that certain structures—particularly those involving carbon-carbon double bonds at specific positions in ring systems—are inherently

UCLA chemists have overturned a century-old rule in organic chemistry that limited molecular design by proving that anti-Bredt olefins can be synthesized and stabilized. This finding opens new paths in drug discovery and innovation.

Scientists have just broken a 100-year-old chemistry rule and synthesized a type of 3D, unstable molecule called an anti-Bredt olefin.

The molecules were deemed too unstable to make, but experiments show they can be ‘captured’ in certain reactions to yield useful products.