2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the Development of a Tool to Manipulate Molecules

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the last of the 2021 science Nobels to be awarded, went jointly to Benjamin List (Max Planck Institute for Coal Research) and David W.C. MacMillan (Princeton University) “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.” Their independent findings, first published in 2000, discovered a new means of catalysis, a tool to create molecules. These catalysts “initiated a totally new way of thinking for how to put together chemical molecules.”

Catalysts are substances used to increase a chemical reaction, but are not changed themselves. Before 2000, only metals and enzymes were used as catalysts. Metal catalysts are toxic, environmentally damaging and require energy-intensive conditions. Enzyme catalysts are difficult to use at a mass scale and are wasteful. List and MacMillian introduced cheaper, safer, more precise and environmentally friendly catalysts that use carbon-based (organic) molecules. These organic catalysts are now used widely in industry to speed up existing processes and to make new molecules for products like pharmaceutical drugs, fertilizers and solar energy storage.

List and MacMillian’s discovery began as a basic research question. The fragility and toxicity of metal catalysts led MacMillian to wonder if he could create a more durable type of catalyst. List pondered if an entire enzyme is required to obtain a catalyst. The tool they developed, which they named “asymmetric organocatalysis,” allows chemists to produce only one of the “mirror” molecules that can occur when building molecules. List and MacMillian’s tool thus makes the catalysis process much more efficient and has since become invaluable to applied research. In discussing his research, List commented, “When I did this experiment, I didn’t know what would happen, and I thought maybe it’s a stupid idea, or someone has tried it already … When I saw it work, I did feel that this could be something big.” Federal funding, in part, contributed to these projects, emphasizing the importance for federally supported basic research.

The discovery is also a testament to conducting research for curiosity’s sake. Basic research, with strong investments by the government, is essential to supporting applied research and the resulting innovations. However, over the past two decades, more emphasis and funding has been placed on applied work. Without the fundamental work, there is no basis for applications and technology stagnates. Funding that supports scientific discovery and innovation lays the groundwork to tackle emerging issues in society and expand humanity’s collective knowledge.

Read our previous posts on the 2021 Nobel awards for medicine and physics.

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