Nobel prize goes to pioneers of Lego-like "click chemistry"

Jonas Aqvist, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, Hans Ellegren, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Olof Ramstrom, member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry announce winners of the 2022 Nobel Prize in chemistry Caroline R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless, during a news conference at The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, October 5, 2022. TT News Agency/Christine Olsson via REUTERS

Scientists Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create new compounds and that offer insight into cell biology.

The field of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry has been harnessed to improve the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals now being tested in clinical trials, along with a host of health, agricultural and industrial applications.