From a 1985 laboratory breakthrough to decades of ongoing research — the story of the world's most elegant carbon molecule.
In September 1985, chemists Harold Kroto, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley were experimenting with laser-vaporised graphite at Rice University, Texas. Among the carbon clusters they detected, one appeared with remarkable stability and abundance: a molecule composed of exactly 60 carbon atoms.
They named it buckminsterfullerene — after the architect Buckminster Fuller, whose geodesic dome structures share the same geometric principle. The molecule is now commonly written as C₆₀.
For this discovery, Kroto, Curl, and Smalley were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996. Their citation described C60 as "a new form of pure carbon" — a third allotrope alongside graphite and diamond.
C60 is a hollow, spherical cage molecule. Its 60 carbon atoms are arranged in 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons — precisely the same pattern as a standard football. Each carbon atom is bonded to three others, creating a robust, symmetrical structure with a diameter of approximately 0.7 nanometres.
This geometry gives C60 several unusual physical and chemical properties:
Its lipophilicity is precisely why olive oil is the preferred carrier medium: C60 dissolves readily in the fat matrix, remaining stable and evenly distributed throughout the formulation.
The scientific interest in C60 is closely linked to its putative antioxidant mechanism. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) — often called "free radicals" — are unstable molecules that can react with and damage cellular structures. The process of neutralising them is called antioxidation.
Laboratory research has explored C60's capacity to interact with free radicals, owing to its electron-accepting properties. Unlike conventional antioxidants that are consumed in the reaction, some research suggests C60 may act catalytically — meaning it retains its activity across multiple interactions. This is an area of active scientific investigation.
In 2012, researchers Tarek Baati and colleagues published a study in the journal Biomaterials (Elsevier) titled:
"The prolongation of the lifespan of rats by repeated oral administration of [60]fullerene" — Baati et al., Biomaterials, 2012
The study administered C60 dissolved in olive oil to rats and observed effects on oxidative stress markers over time. The research generated significant academic attention and prompted a wave of follow-up studies exploring C60's properties in various biological models.
Important context: This study was conducted in rodents under controlled laboratory conditions. Its findings cannot be directly extrapolated to humans. The study has been subject to scientific debate and has not been replicated in human clinical trials. We present it here as scientific background, not as evidence of product efficacy.
Browse the full Science Library →The choice of carrier oil is not incidental — it is central to how C60 is dissolved, stabilised, and stored. Organic extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is uniquely well-suited for several reasons:
C60 is lipophilic — it dissolves in fats, not water. EVOO's oleic-acid-rich structure makes it an ideal solvent for the molecule.
EVOO contains hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein — phenolic compounds with authorised antioxidant claims under EU Regulation 432/2012.
The natural antioxidants in EVOO help protect C60 from oxidative degradation, contributing to a longer, more stable product life.
The Baati study itself used olive oil as the carrier — making it the reference formulation for C60 research in this context. Our formulation follows this established protocol.