|
|
Three scientists shared the prize for developing "click chemistry" — a functional type of chemistry based on molecular building blocks that snap together — and bioorthogonal chemistry, which uses click chemistry within the cells of living organisms.
October 5, 2022
The U.S. National Science Foundation congratulates Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless on their 2022 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Their breakthrough discoveries transformed the field by enabling new ways to create complex molecules more quickly and efficiently, even within the cells of living organisms. Their fundamental research provided the groundwork for new applications in multiple areas such as the development of new drugs and medical therapies and more targeted cancer treatments.
In the early 2000s, Sharpless and Meldal independently developed "click chemistry" — a term coined by Sharpless that describes functional molecular building blocks that snap together efficiently. Bertozzi later expanded on click chemistry so it could be used inside living cells without harming them. She called the "clickable" reactions that she discovered "bioorthogonal" because they don't interfere with the cell's normal chemistry. They can also reveal detailed information about how cells function.
|
|
|
|
