Talk:Nitromersol

The structure of nitromersol
There's recently been a discussion at WP:Chem about the structure of Nitromersol. I'm leaving a summery of it here in the hopes that future chemists might be able to resolve the matter. We currently show Nitromersol as having an fused 4-membered ring. This matches the CAS/Scifinder depiction, the SMILES, InChI and names (but not the StdInChI for some reason). However, all the other organomercury compounds (and indeed mercury compounds) currently on wikipedia have bond angles of close to 180°, so a 90° structure seems a little strained. It's not listed in the Cambridge Structural Database, nor anywhere else, despite a thorough search. The oxymercuration reaction supposedly proceeds via a 3-membered Hg-heterocycle and although that isn't stable it may imply that a 4-membered ring could be stable. CAS doesn't list any other C–C–Hg–O rings that are real, though there are a few reports of C–S–Hg–S four-membered rings with experimental data. It was suggested in the discussion that it could be a dimer, which would allow for 'normal' bond angles. Overall, it's a bizarre structure with sparse and poor quality evidence both in favour and against. Hopefully someone will eventually find some compelling evidence to settle the matter. If I'm still active then, do let me know. --Project Osprey (talk) 19:38, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

Newspaper headlines
Newspaper headlines making great claims in 1927 - one example from Cordele, Georgia, USA. Samatva (talk) 15:52, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

I can't find any sources that support the claim that nitromersol is used in vaccines.
I have found plenty of sources citing its use as a disinfectant, but none to support the claim that it is used in vaccines. I think the original author may have mistaken this for thimerosal, which is used in vaccines. ChachiCND (talk) 19:08, 17 February 2024 (UTC)