Nobel Chemistry Prize awarded to three scientists for ‘snapping molecules together’ for use in cancer drug trials
- The technologies known as click and bioorthogonal chemistry help researchers improve the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals
- Nobel Chemistry Prize announced in Stockholm, following medicine and physics prizes this week
Scientists Morten Meldal of Denmark and Carolyn Bertozzi and Barry Sharpless from the United States won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for discovering reactions that let molecular building blocks snap together to efficiently create new desired compounds.
Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the winners at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
The technologies known as click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes, the award-giving body said in a statement.
“Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals, which are now being tested in clinical trials,” it added.
“I’m absolutely stunned, I’m sitting here and I can hardly breathe,” Bertozzi said from California after the academy reached her by telephone with the news she had won.
Sharpless joins an elite band of scientists who have won two Nobel Prizes. The other individuals are John Bardeen who won the Physics prize twice, Marie Curie, who won Physics and Chemistry, Linus Pauling who won Chemistry and Peace and Frederick Sanger who won the Chemistry prize twice.