The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipients on Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden. Henri B Kagan of Paris-Sud University in France and Kensō Soai of Tokyo University of Science in Japan share the award for their work on nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. Each laureate receives an equal portion of a 12 million Swedish kronor prize.
Many molecules exist in two forms that are mirror images of one another, containing identical atoms but arranged differently—a property known as chirality. This characteristic creates practical challenges, particularly in pharmaceutical development, because the two forms can interact with biological systems in substantially different ways. The historical thalidomide tragedy illustrated these consequences, as the drug’s mirror-image forms produced different biological effects, leading to severe birth defects when mothers were exposed during pregnancy.
A fundamental scientific question has long puzzled researchers: how did biological systems develop a preference for one specific molecular form when typical laboratory reactions produce equal quantities of both? Kagan addressed this puzzle beginning in 1986 by demonstrating that a modest imbalance between left- and right-handed forms of a catalyst could generate a greater excess of one mirror-image product than the other. Soai subsequently expanded on these findings, developing a reaction wherein the produced molecules themselves functioned as catalysts for creating additional copies of themselves, a process termed autocatalysis.
In 2003, Soai demonstrated a reaction that generated almost exclusively one mirror-image form, successfully reproducing the molecular one-handedness characteristic of living organisms in a laboratory setting. Soai indicated during the announcement that the experiment provided potential insights into how biological molecular uniformity could have naturally emerged.
Their combined discoveries have substantially influenced industrial practices across multiple sectors. The insights derived from their work have become fundamental to catalyst development, enabling chemists to direct chemical reactions toward producing specific molecular forms and reshaping understanding of how molecular chirality is generated, amplified, and transmitted.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI