Chemists have taken a tip from Tony Soprano — where cajoling, fear and intimidation fail, brute force may succeed. To break the strong bonds of an exceptionally stable ring-shaped compound known for resisting all powers of chemical persuasion, researchers attached chains to it and physically tore the thing apart.
The extremely sturdy compound, a triazole ring found in many drugs and fungus-fighting chemicals, was yanked asunder using molecular chains and the power of suction that’s created when bubbles implode. This new approach, published in the Sept. 16 Science, suggests a powerful new means for bossing molecules around.
“It’s a way to almost literally put your hands on molecules and twist them or turn them in whatever way you want,” says chemist Christopher Bielawski of the University of Texas at Austin, coauthor of the new study.