Nobel Prize 2022 in Chemistry Awarded To ‘Click Chemistry’ Trio

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday announced the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2022 to Carolyn R Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K Barry Sharpless. The trio of scientists have worked independently to develop models necessary for advancing modern concepts like click chemistry and bio-orthogonal chemistry. 

With its recommendation, the committee has given a new ray of hope to scientists working in diverse systems in chemistry. The 2022 year Nobel prize for Chemistry is all about applauding the simplification of sophisticated processes in Chemistry. In this field, scientists Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal have laid the structural base for the functional concept of Click Chemistry. 

According to their works, Barry and Morten devised a mechanism through which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently to form new compounds. Later, to their submission of the study, scientist Carolyn Bertozzi started to rearrange the sequels of finding and took the concept to the new dimension of utilizing it in living organisms. 

To simplify molecular formations, chemists have long been driven by the desire as they were busy arranging processes to simplify working in complicated molecules. For this, they earlier used to work on the artificial arrangement of natural molecules with medicinal properties. These molecules were good for framing many molecular constructions. However, the process with limited resources was long and time-consuming, making the application of the process a costly affair.

Commending the reduction of time duration, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award a concept that deals with not over complicating matters and instead works with an easy and simple process. The committee accepted that functional molecules could be built by a straightforward route. 

Work of Chemistry 2022 Nobel Winners

Here is how the scientists trio came to a common conclusion regarding their work in scientific research.

K Barry Sharpless: The time’s prize is Barry’s second Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He coined the concept of Click Chemistry back in the year 2000. He introduced the concept as a form of simple and reliable chemistry that could assist atoms in reacting quickly and with minimum by products.

Morten Meldal: Following Barry’s work, scientist Meldal joined him independently to present what is now the crown jewel of Click Chemistry. He worked in an advanced structure in which copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The reaction for which is an elegant and efficient one that modern industries are using widely. Among various uses of this catalyst, some involve the development of pharmaceuticals, DNA mapping, and material formation.

Carolyn R Bertozzi: Learning from the advancements of his predecessors, Bertozzi took Click Chemistry to an entirely new level. She mapped the important and, at the same time, elusive biomolecules on the surface of cells – glycans. The mapping allowed her to know more about click reactions that work inside living organisms. Her Bio-orthogonal reactions took place without disrupting the normal chemistry of the cell.

Applications of Click And Bio-Orthogonal Reactions

The concepts of Click and Bio-orthogonal reactions are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes occurring inside living beings. In fact, knowledge about Bio-orthogonal reactions allowed researchers to improve the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals, which are now in their clinical trials. 

The scientists’ work in Click Chemistry and Bio-orthogonal Reactions has taken chemistry into the era of functionalism, marking the greatest achievement for all humans.