Term: carrier atom https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00861 Definition: A participant atom which is neither core nor peripheral and which carries other groups to and from the molecule containing the core atom(s) but which does not itself become covalently attached to that molecule. Related Terms: 1) core atom(s) (<em>in organic reaction mechanisms</em>) (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01341). Source: PAC, 1989, 61, 23. 'System for symbolic representation of reaction mechanisms (Recommendations 1988)' on page 27 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198961010023) Citation: 'carrier atom' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00861 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.