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NOBEL PRIZE for chemistry 2001
 Mirror
Image Catalysis
One half jointly to:
William S. Knowles St Louis, Missouri, USA, Ryoji Noyori Nagoya
University, Chikusa, Nagoya, Japan,
and the other half to
K. Barry Sharpless (photo) the Scripps Research Institute,
La Jolla, California, USA,
Many molecules appear in two forms that mirror each other
– just as our hands mirror each other. Such molecules are
called chiral. In nature one of these forms is often dominant,
so in our cells one of these mirror images of a molecule fits
"like a glove", in contrast to the other one which may even
be harmful. Pharmaceutical products often consist of chiral
molecules, and the difference between the two forms can be
a matter of life and death – as was the case, for example,
in the thalidomide disaster in the 1960s. That is why it is
vital to be able to produce the two chiral forms separately.
This year's Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have developed molecules
that can catalyse important reactions so that only one of
the two mirror image forms is produced. The catalyst molecule,
which itself is chiral, speeds up the reaction without being
consumed. Just one of these molecules can produce millions
of molecules of the desired mirror image form.
William S. Knowles discovered that it was possible
to use transition metals to make chiral catalysts for an important
type of reaction called hydrogenation, thereby obtaining the
desired mirror image form as the final product. His research
quickly led to an industrial process for the production of
the L-DOPA drug which is used in the treatment of Parkinson's
disease.
Ryoji Noyori has led the further development of this
process to today's general chiral catalysts for hydrogenation.
K. Barry Sharpless, on the other hand, is awarded
half of the Prize for developing chiral catalysts for another
important type of reaction – oxidation. The Laureates have
opened up a completely new field of research in which it is
possible to synthesise molecules and material with new properties.
Today the results of their basic research are being used in
a number of industrial syntheses of pharmaceutical products
such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and heart medicines.
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