Nobel prize rewards click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions

This year’s chemistry Nobel prize is shared equally between the click chemistry pioneers Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal, and Carolyn Bertozzi, who shaped the field of bioorthogonal chemistry. For Sharpless, this is his second chemistry Nobel prize – he’s only the second person after Frederick Sanger to receive two chemistry prizes.

Click reactions have revolutionised chemistry as a robust and reliable way to join small modular units together. Most importantly, they can be made to be biocompatible. Such bioorthogonal reactions allow scientists to track biological processes inside living organisms without disturbing their natural functions. Biocompatible click reactions can also be used to deliver drugs – the first human trial of an anticancer drug that selectively releases the active ingredient at the tumour site is currently underway.