• WHO: Richard Heck, 79, professor emeritus at the University of Delaware; Ei-ichi Negishi, 75, chemistry professor at Purdue University; Akira Suzuki, 80, a retired professor from Hokkaido University.
• WHAT: Winners of the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry. They will share a $1.5 million award.
• THEIR WORK: The scientists designed a technique, with variants, to bind together carbon atoms, a key step in assembling the skeletons of organic compounds used in medicine, agriculture and electronics. Carbon atoms are normally shy about pairing up. Their winning approach was to use atoms of the metal palladium kind of like a singles bar, a place where pairs of carbon atoms are jammed together and encouraged to bond. This idea, called palladium-catalyzed cross coupling, was easier to do than previous methods.
• APPLICATIONS: By one estimate, their techniques are the basis for at least 25 percent of all chemical reactions in the pharmaceutical industry. In agriculture, the palladium approach is used to make chemicals that protect crops from fungi and other pests. And the electronics industry uses it for coating electronic circuits and as a tool for developing future computer screens that are thinner.
• QUOTE: “Making new bonds in chemistry is not an easy process. The coupling reactions involving palladium add to the toolbox for chemists in making new kinds of materials. This is a great acknowledgement by the Nobel chemistry committee of the real value and utility of this chemistry.” – Joseph S. Francisco, president, American Chemical Society
Associated Press
