Pepto-Bismol compound’s structure unveiled after 120 years

A row of Pepto-Bismol bottles with their bright pink contents lined up on a shelf

Source: © Sara Stathas/Alamy Stock Photo

Electron microscopy triumphed over x-ray crystallography as century-old structural puzzle around bismuth subsalicylate is finally solved

The structure of bismuth subsalicylate – the active ingredient of the stomach relief drug Pepto-Bismol and one of the most commercially important bismuth compounds – has finally been uncovered.