The Nobel chemistry prize goes for a new approach to catalysts

THIS YEAR’S Nobel prize for chemistry was shared by Benjamin List, of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, in Germany, and David MacMillan, of Princeton University. Their prize-winning work, published in 2000, was conducted independently, and unknown to each other at the time, but with the same end in mind. This was to break the stranglehold of enzymes and transition metals on the field of catalysis.Some chemical reactions proceed with alacrity. Most, though—including many that are industrially important—need a helping hand in the form of a catalyst. Evolution has provided a goodly range of these in the form of enzymes, which are large, complicated and sometimes temperamental protein molecules, but have the advantage that they can create pure versions of what are known as optical isomers. These are molecules which have two forms that are mirror images of each other. That is important in the drug industry, for the different versions, known as enantiomers, can have different effects in the body. Also, if you choose the right enzymes, it is often possible to carry out multi-step reactions in only a few stages.