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Originally published in Science Express on 29 November 2002
Science 3 January 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5603, pp. 52 - 53
DOI: 10.1126/science.1079630
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Perspectives

CHEMISTRY:
Diamondoid Hydrocarbons--Delving into Nature's Bounty

Alan P. Marchand

Small diamondoids-hydrocarbon molecules with a three-dimensional structure whose carbon-carbon framework constitutes the fundamental repeating unit in the diamond lattice-were first synthesized in the 1950s. However, synthetic methods were unable to produce larger diamondoids. In his Perspective, Marchand highlights the report by Dahl et al., who have isolated such higher diamondoids from crude oil. The work should rekindle interest in these unusual materials, which may find use in pharmaceutical and nanotechnological applications.

The author is in the Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA. E-mail: marchand{at}unt.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)