Three scientists were awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 5 that the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be awarded to American female scientist Carolyn R.
Bertozzi, Danish scientist Morten Meldal and American scientist K.
Barry Sharpless for their contributions
to the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.

Chemists have long been eager to build increasingly complex molecules
.
In pharmaceutical research, this often involves the artificial reproduction of natural molecules with medicinal properties, but these are often time-consuming and expensive
to produce.

According to a press release published on the Nobel Prize's official website, Barry Sharp and Morton Meldal laid the foundation for "click chemistry", which enables molecular building blocks to come together quickly and
efficiently.
Carolyn Bertosi took click chemistry to a new dimension and began applying it to living organisms
.

Johan Åqvist, chairman of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Committee, said: "This year's chemistry prize is about not making things too complicated, but working
with things that are easy and simple.
Even if you take a simple route, you can build functional molecules
.
”

It is worth mentioning that Barry Sharprice was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry for his pioneering contributions to asymmetric catalytic oxidation.
Around 2000, he coined the concept of click chemistry, a simple and reliable form of chemistry in which reactions occur quickly and avoid producing unwanted by-products
.

Soon after, Morton Meltard and Barry Sharprice independently demonstrated the "crown jewel" of click chemistry – the copper-catalyzed azide alkyne ring addition
.
This is an elegant and efficient chemical reaction that is now widely used, and it is used in drug development, mapping DNA and creating materials
that are more suitable for use.

Caroline Bertosi takes click chemistry to the next level
.
To map an important but elusive biomolecule on the cell surface — glycans — she developed click reactions that work within living organisms
.
Her biological orthogonal reactions do not disrupt the normal chemistry of cells
.
Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer drugs, which are now undergoing clinical trials
.

The press release concluded by saying that click chemistry and biological orthogonal reactions have brought chemistry into the era of functionalism, which has brought great benefits
to mankind.

It is reported that the three winners will share an average of 10 million Swedish kronor (about 6.
52 million yuan) in prize money
.