Carbon bond formation reproducibility runs into reagent stability problem

Stability problems with basic reagents used to make carbon–carbon bonds could be creating inconsistent reaction outcomes across the world, US researchers have discovered. Scientists at Scripps Research in La Jolla and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in New Brunswick have shown that solid sodium alkoxides rapidly react with carbon dioxide in the air. ‘By Raman spectroscopy, we detect changes in the spectra within the first few hours of analysis under a standard laboratory environment,’ comments BMS’s Steve Wisniewski.