Serendipitous discoveries

Barrett A H 1983 The beginnings of moleoular radio astronomy Serendipitous Discoveries in Radio Astronomy ed K Kellerman and B Sheets (Green Bank, WV NRAO)... 

In 1955, Hurd and Mori first described the preparation of 1,2,3-thiadiazole as an unexpected product from the reaction of the hydrazone 5 and thionyl chloride. The authors were attempting to prepare the six membered anhydride 7 in an analogous manner to the 5-membered anhydride 9, prepared from 8 using thionyl chloride. However, when the hydrazone 5 and thionyl chloride were mixed and heated at 60°C for 1 hour followed by cooling, the thiadiazole acid 6 precipitated out and was isolated by filtration. This serendipitous discovery led to a significant advance in the synthesis of thiadi azoles. 

An example of a serendipitous discovery in a field related to diazo chemistry is the first in vitro product of a reaction of molecular nitrogen with a transition metal complex (Allen and Senoff, 1965). As discussed in the context of diazo-metal complexes (Zollinger, 1995, Sec. 3.3), the metal —N2 bonds are similar to C —N2 bonds in organic diazo compounds. The paradigm that N2 is (almost) inert in chemical reactions probably explains why it took so long for N2 complexes to be discovered. ... 

Sir Bernard Lovell, the founder of Britain s Jodrell Bank Observatory, brings our attention to a present development which, unfortunately, does not favor serendipitous discoveries. What he wrote about astronomy in 1984 is certainly valid for chemistry too I was enthusiastic when. .. computers became a major force in astronomical research. .. But even the greatest blessings tend to be mixed. .. Computers are no exception. .. I fear that literal-minded, narrowly focused computerized research is proving antithetical to the free exercise of that happy faculty known as serendipity. .. . 

This serendipitous discovery marked the beginning of the synthetic dyestuffs industry, based on coal tar as its main raw material, which is, incidentally, a waste product from another industry, steel manufacture. The development of mauveine was followed by efficient syntheses of natural dyes such as alizarin in 1869 (Graebe and Liebermann, 1869), and indigo in 1878 (Bayer, 1878 Heumann, 1890). The synthetic production of these dyes marked the demise of the agricultural production of these materials and the advent of a science-based, predominantly German chemical industry. The present-day fine chemicals and specialties, e.g. pharmaceuticals, industries developed largely as spin-offs of this coal tar-based dyestuffs industry. 

The serendipitous discovery of this compound has proven to be extremely important to our visions of possibilities for new metal-metal bonded structures in reduced oxide phases. In retrospect it is amazing that oxide phases containing molybdenum in oxidation states less than 4+ were essentially unknown and certainly structurally uncharacterized. The existence of the previously mentioned series M2 Mo30q and LiM Mo303 should have been a tip-off to an extensive chemistry for metal-metal bonded molybdenum oxide systems. Indeed, subsequent work has revealed a plethora of new compounds all of which (where structure has been determined) feature strong metal-metal bonding in either discrete cluster units or extended chain arrays. 

In the early 1980s a serendipitous discovery was made when to a mixture of HRP, luminol, and hydrogen peroxide in buffer, firefly luciferin was accidentally added. The light yield of the HRP-catalyzed peroxidation of luminol was greatly enhanced. This remarkable discovery marked the beginning of a very successful analytical tool for immunoassay and all kinds of blotting (protein, DNA, and RNA) applications [16-18],... 

The hard pretzel is said to be a serendipitous discovery made when an apprentice baker left a tray of soft pretzels in the oven overnight. The resulting hard product was liked and started a whole new business. 

Since the serendipitous discovery of Teflon at the Dupont Jackson Laboratory in 1938, fluoropolymers have grown steadily in technological and marketplace importance. New synthetic fluorine chemistry, new processes, and new appreciation of the mechanisms by which fluorine imparts exceptional properties all contribute to accelerating growth in fluoropolymers. 

The serendipitous discovery of the antitumor activity of cisplatin opened a huge field of research, leading to significant advances and successes in cancer chemotherapy [181]. Cisplatin and its analogues are reactive complexes that exhibit pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and toxicological behaviors so closely interdependent as to be all but impossible to untangle. Our focus here is and remains metabolism, but some considerations regarding activity and toxicity are also addressed. 

The title of this session. Guided and Serendipitous Discovery (within the symposium. Approaches to Rational Synthesis of Pesticides) focuses attention on the nature of the discovery, rather than the outcome. The discovery of the avermectin family of compounds was by no means serendipitous those who were seeking found what they sought. It is the purpose of this paper to record the manner of the seeking and the manner... 

Actually, the earliest derivative of a vinylcyclopropane radical cation was a serendipitous discovery. It was formed by an unusual hydrogen shift upon photo-induced electron transfer oxidation of tricyclo[4.1.0.0 ]heptane (26). This result has been questioned on the grounds that the same rearrangement was not observed in a Freon matrix. However, there is no basis for the assumption that radical cation reactions in frozen matrices at cryogenic temperatures should follow the same course as those at room temperature in fluid solution and in the presence of a radical anion, which is potentially a strong base. In several cases, matrix reactions have taken a decidedly different course from those in solution. For example, radiolysis of 8 in a Freon matrix generated the bicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-2,6-diene radical cation (27 ), or caused retro-Diels-Alder cleavage yet, the... 

In recent work a serendipitous discovery showed that strongly acidic chloroaluminate-containing ionic liquids, whether in combination with trialkylam-monium or with dialkylimidzolium cations, are active and selective for the cleavage of aromatic methyl ethers, even at temperatures <40°C. The ionic liquids are consistently better catalyst than AICI3 for this type of reaction 139). 

The chemistry of bare metal clusters with interstitial atoms is clearly the new frontier as indicated by two recent serendipitous discoveries ... 

One of the most well known cases is that of indigo. The serendipitous discovery that cloning of the naphthalene dioxygenase genes in E, coli leads to the formation... 

The penicillins (or penams) were discovered in 1929 by Sir Alexander Fleming, and developed by Florey, Chain, and Abraham at Oxford University. The history of penicillin became a story of legendary proportions, illustrating the case of a serendipitous discovery combined with brilliant development it also marks the beginning of the modern chemotherapy of infectious diseases. 

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