Chemists have confirmed a 67-year-old theory about vitamin B1 by stabilizing a highly reactive molecule in water, a breakthrough that was long considered impossible. This discovery not only resolves a long-standing biochemical question but also paves the way for more sustainable and efficient methods of producing pharmaceuticals.
The molecule involved is a carbene, a form of carbon atom with only six valence electrons instead of the usual eight. This electron deficiency makes carbenes extremely unstable and reactive, especially in water, where they typically break down almost immediately. However, for decades, scientists have suspected that vitamin B1, or thiamine, might form a carbene-like intermediate during essential reactions in the body.
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