Morten Meldahl (68) from Denmark, who was selected as the co-winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, emphasized the importance of chemistry as a fundamental science to elucidate and understand the ‘reality’ of all phenomena.
Professor Meldahl at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, said in a phone interview posted on the Nobel Foundation’s website right following the announcement of the winner on the 5th (local time), “The complexity of organic chemistry is beyond what our scholars can imagine, and new things are constantly appearing. do,” he said.
He said he was “completely surprised” when he heard the news of the award.
Professor Meldahl developed a new synthetic technology that can easily and stably create new drugs such as cancer treatments, and laid the foundation for ‘click chemistry’, Professor Carolyn R. Vertage (56, USA) and K. Barry Sharpless (81, USA). ), along with two others, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
‘Click chemistry’ refers to a method of synthesizing two molecules as if they were assembling blocks without generating by-products.
When asked if he predicted that the development of the copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition, considered one of his best achievements, would be groundbreaking, Professor Meldahl answered, “Yes.” It was not something that might have happened before,” he said.
The copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction, which he and Professor Sharpless independently discovered, is considered a very economical synthesis method compared to the existing synthesis method.
Currently, it is widely used in the development of new drugs.
Professor Meldahl emphasized, “Chemistry is a very interesting field because there are many existentials” for young researchers who are considering a career in chemistry research.
“It’s a very difficult task to understand how everything happens, but it’s also a very rewarding experience,” he said.
/yunhap news
