title: Was Bijvoet right? Sodium rubidium (+)-tartrate tetrahydrate revisited.
abstract: The first determination of the absolute configuration of an organic compound was published in 1951 on sodium rubidium (+)-tartrate tetrahydrate, Na(+).Rb(+).C(4)H(4)O(6)(2-).4H(2)O, but the atomic coordinates are not available in the public literature. This structure has therefore been redetermined using current equipment. The most up-to-date techniques for the determination of the absolute configuration have been applied and the question posed in the title can be answered with an unequivocal 'yes'.
authors.affiliation: Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Crystal and Structural Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.lutz@uu.nl
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: Antoine M M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schreurs
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D012413:Rubidium / Q000737:chemistry*; D013644:Tartrates / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D013644:Tartrates; D012413:Rubidium; C029768:tartaric acid