Tetra-tert-butylmethane and other chemical compounds that don't exist

I learned two things yesterday:

1. You can buy tetra-tert-butylmethane from (at least) the following vendors:
• Angene
• Triveni
• Hangzhou Sage Chemical Co., Ltd
• Kingston Chemicals
• Atomax Chemical Co., Ltd.
2. Tetra-tert-butylmethane has never been made and likely cannot be made.

Aside from being a favourite high-school chemistry nomenclature problem, PubChem and ChemSpider both have entries for this compound. It has CAS number: 4103-17-7. And it does not exist.

So, I went searching.

Total synthesis of yaku'amide (again)

Total synthesis is always fantastic: You think of what you want to make and then you make it...that was a joke.

A few weeks ago, Inoue and group synthesized and "correctly" characterized the compound yaku'amide, a tridecapeptide named after the sample collection site at 屋久新曽根 (Yakushinsone), again.^1,2

On The Number of Phthalates

On the Number of Phthalates

Recently, four cover stories of C&EN magazine were dedicated to the class of molecules called phthalates. Phthalate esters of fatty alcohols are generally used in industry as plasticizers, turning PVC into a more malleable form which comprises many toys for young children. There have been studies of the links between exposure to phthalate plasticizers and antiandrogenic effects in humans (do a PubMed search for phthalates). Reports are coming out about its reproductive effects on females. So, the race is on to develop the next "healthier" plasticizer.

Turning spiroketals into teddy bears

In Tim Burton's film The Nightmare Before Christmas, there is a scene where the Oogie Boogie Man, upon his demise, splits open at the seams and out spill thousands of worms. Besides taxidermy, the Oogie Boogie Man is the only thing I thought of when I saw this graphical abstract on Twitter: