India, May 4 -- For the first time, researchers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering (CSE) created a highly reactive chemical compound that eluded scientists for more than 120 years. The discovery, published in Science, could lead to new drug treatments, safer agricultural products and better electronics.

For decades, researchers investigated molecules called N-heteroarenes, which are ring-shaped chemical compounds containing one or more nitrogen atoms. Molecules with a N-heteroarene core are widely used for medicinal applications, lifesaving pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides and electronics, but they are extremely challenging for chemists to make.

"While the average person does not think about heteroc...