Chemistry Noble Prize

German scientist Benjamin List & Scotland born scientist

• David WC MacMillan won Noble Prize in chemistry 2021 for ‘the development of asymmetric organ catalysis’. As said by Nobel committee the development of a “new and ingenious tool” for molecule building “i.e.”organ catalysis will be used for research into new pharmaceuticals & will also help making chemistry greener. In 1835, the Swedish chemist Jacob Berzelius described a phenomenon in which certain substances could “galvanize a chemical reaction”.These substances were named as catalysts and the process was called catalysis. Since then & till now scientists have discovered many catalysts that can build up & break down molecules.
• Discovery of catalysts led to inventions such as plastics, perfumes, pharmaceuticals.
• Before 2000, scientists assumed that all catalysts available were of two types –

Metals Catalyst	Enzymes
Temporarily accommodate electron or offer dictions of offer them to other molecules during chemical processes. Eg. Platinum	Are proteins found in nature, forms complicated & vital molecules like cholesterol & chlorophyll.
Problem is they are toxic & environmentally taxing as mining is required for them	These are efficient but are cumbersome leading to vast amount of waste

• In 2020, Dr list & Dr MacMillan working independently of each other developed a new type of catalysis that used organic molecules called asymmetric organ catalysis
• Organic molecules like Carbohydrates are called organs because they build all living things Many organic molecules exists in 2 variants known as chiralety. Chemists & pharama researchers mainly want one version of a molecule as both version can lead to disastrous effects. Eq Thalidomide molecules 1 variant caused severe birth defects in thousand of babies. But asymmetric catalysis can produce just one variant of asymmetric molecules.
• Dr lists experiment & Dr MacMillan’s reaction worked perfectly and they published their paper coining the term of this new catalysis- ORGANO CATALYSIS.

Significance of ORGANO CATALYSIS

• help those who apply chemistry to real would problems
• Metal Catalysts are expensive & difficult to maintain as it require environment free of oxygen & moisture
• are more precise reducing reducing chemical waste
• streamline the production of existing pharmaceutical [medicines for depression & respilary infections & others] are environment friendly because no requirement of mining as in metal usage.

Noble prize for chemistry 2020 was given for developing the gene- editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 i.e. DNA snipping scissors.

As per the will of sir Alfred Nobel 1895, the Nobel prize is awarded to those who during preceding year have conferred the greatest benefits to humankind. It is first awarded in 5 fields namely Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace. It was just awarded in 1901 (120 years ago).

It is Sweden which prizes in all field except Peace Prize is given by Norway.

In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank i.e Sweden’s Central bank established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Sir Alfred Nobel.