The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to research that facilitates the construction of molecules

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K.Barry Sharples, for developing an ingenious tool for building molecules. Scientists are responsible for studies related to so-called “click chemistry” and bio-orthogonal chemistry.

It is the second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Barry Sharples, who had received another award in 2001 for his work on chiral catalysis reactions.

The winners were announced Wednesday morning at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. The awarded researchers will share the prize of 10 million Swedish kronor, the equivalent of more than US$ 900,000 or around R$ 4.7 million at current exchange rates. In addition, each of them receives a medal, with the face of Nobel, and a diploma.

How the Nobel Prize Winner is Chosen

The Nobel Prize began with the death of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). In his last will, in 1895, Nobel recorded that his fortune should be used to build a prize. The chemist’s family received the idea with disapproval. The first prize ended up being given only in 1901.

For the work of Nobel, inventor of dynamite and responsible for the development of synthetic rubber and leather, chemistry was the most important science. The chemist registered 355 patents in 63 years of life.

The process of choosing the winner of the chemistry area starts the year before the award. In September, the Nobel Committee for Chemistry sends out invitations (about 3,000) for the nomination of names that deserve the tribute. Responses are sent by January 31st.

Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences may nominate; members of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry and Physics; Nobel Prize Winners in Physics and Chemistry; chemistry professors at universities and institutes of technology in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; professors in similar positions in at least six other (but usually hundreds of) universities chosen by the Academy of Sciences, with the aim of ensuring adequate distribution across continents and areas of knowledge; and other scientists that the Academy deems suitable to receive the invitations.

Self-appointments are not accepted.

Then begins a process of analyzing the hundreds of names mentioned, with consultation with experts and the development of reports, in order to narrow down the selection. Finally, in October, the Academy, by majority vote, decides who will receive the recognition.

Recent history of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Last year, the award went to Benjamin List, from the Max-Planck Institute, in Germany, and to David MacMillan, from Princeton University, in the USA. Scientists were honored for developing an ingenious and powerful tool for building organic molecules, known as asymmetric organocatalysis.

In 2020, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was 100% female, with honors for Emmanuelle Charpentier, from the Max Planck Institute (Germany), and Jennifer Doudna, from the University of California, Berkeley (USA). The researchers were instrumental in opening the door to the possibility of rewriting the code of life with gene editing. You may have heard of the technique used for this: Crispr-Cas9.

Only seven women have won recognition so far, out of 186 awardees in history.

In 2019, the development of lithium-ion batteries earned John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino the Nobel in the area.

For taking evolution to test tubes, in 2018, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Frances H. Arnold, from the US, George P. Smith, also from the US, and Gregory P. Winter, from the UK.

In 2017, research on electron cryomicroscopy, a process by which it is possible to freeze molecules in the midst of biochemical processes —as in a photograph of life—, was remembered by the Nobel. The laureates were Jacques Dubochet from the University of Lausanne, Joachim Frank from Columbia University and Richard Henderson from the University of Cambridge.

In addition to the 2021 award, research on catalysis was recently awarded. In 2001, researchers William S. Knowles, Ryoji Noyori and K. Barry Sharpless were laureates for studies on catalysis reactions related to chiral molecules capable of producing specular products, such as those cited in the 2021 winning studies.

Among the research already awarded throughout history are the discovery and work with the chemical elements radium and polonium (Marie Curie, 1911) and research on chemical bonds (Linus Pauling, 1954).

Nobel agenda

Nobel Prize in Literature – Thursday (6)

Nobel Peace Prize – Friday (7)

Nobel Prize in Economics – Monday (10)

The winners’ live announcements can be followed on the award’s official website and on Nobel’s YouTube profile.