Adamantane

Adamantane is a colorless, crystalline, and highly stable organic compound with the chemical formula C10H16. It is a type of diamondoid, a hydrocarbon composed of multiple fused cyclohexane rings that resembles the structure of diamond.

Adamantane was first synthesized in 1933 by the Russian chemist Vladimir Prelog and later characterized by Paul von Ragué Schleyer in the 1950s. It is widely used as a building block in the synthesis of other organic compounds and pharmaceuticals, and also as a starting material for the production of diamondoids with larger structures.

In addition, adamantane derivatives have been found to exhibit antiviral, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties, and are being investigated as potential drug candidates for the treatment of various diseases. For example, amantadine and rimantadine are adamantane-based antiviral drugs that are used to treat influenza A virus infections, while memantine is an adamantane-based drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease.