Chemistry Nobel 2022: Concept of ‘click chemistry’ simplified for you

Three scientists have shared the Chemistry Nobel this year for their seminal work on ‘click chemistry’.  To put it simply, it means linking molecules, like those in living cells.

“This year’s prize deals with not overcomplicating matters, instead working with what is easy and simple,” said Johan Aqvist, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Carolyn Bertozzi of the US, Morten Meldal of Denmark, and Barry Sharpless of the US will share the prize money of 10 million Swedish krona (₹7.4 crore) for their independent work on click chemistry.

So, what is click chemistry? Here is an explainer to make the concept easier for you to understand.

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The basics of click chemistry

Click chemistry is used to explore cells and track biological processes. For instance, it can be applied to cancer treatment drugs.

Bertozzi, who is the eighth woman to win the Chemistry Nobel, said a crucial application of her work is in medicine and drug delivery. She explained that it enables scientists to do “chemistry inside the human body, to make sure drugs go to the right place and stay away from the wrong place.”

Click chemistry is also a “biological discovery tool,” she explained. It allows scientists to see new molecules that they did not know about.

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How the term was coined

For a long time, scientists have been trying to create complicated molecules. In pharmaceutical research, natural molecules with medicinal properties have often been artificially recreated. Though the results have been admirable, the processes are time-consuming and expensive.

Sharpless and Meldal worked independently at Scripps Research, the US, and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, respectively. Around 2000, they developed this form of chemistry where reactions are quick, and unwanted by-products are avoided. The molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently. It’s as simple as two pieces “clicking” together.

Sharpless, who has won the Nobel Prize twice (first in 2001 for chiral catalysts), coined the term “click chemistry” that year.

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How it works

The biggest breakthrough was the copper catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Both Meldal and Sharpless, working independently of each other, reported their findings.

Azide is an organic compound with the formula N3, while an alkyne is a hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond.

This smooth and effective chemical reaction is now in widespread use. Among many others, it is used to develop drugs, map DNA, and create effective treatment materials.

But it was Bertozzi who took click chemistry to a new level.

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Use in living organisms

Bertozzi, working at Stanford University, the US, started using it in living organisms. By doing so, she became a pioneer in bio-orthogonal chemistry.

Bioorthogonal reactions take place without disrupting the normal functioning of the cell. Together with click chemistry, it has taken chemistry into the era of functionalism.

Bertozzi developed click reactions—which work inside living organisms—to map vital but elusive biomolecules on the surface of cells, called glycans. It is now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes.

Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers can better target cancer drugs. Currently, these are being tested in clinical trials.