07/10/2026
Thanks to the discoveries that are being recognised by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026, chemists have gained fundamental new tools for use in their daily work but, above all, these discoveries have contributed to solving one of chemistry’s greatest mysteries: how homochirality – like that found in all living beings – can be created.
The Soai reaction – developed by 2026 laureate Kenso Soai – has awakened new enthusiasm in chemists who want to understand the life’s origins. Around the world, researchers are now trying to repeat Soai’s achievement, but with the aim of producing homochiral amino acids and sugars.
The non-linear effects that chemistry laureate Henri B. Kagan discovered have become an important tool for chemists when they design new reactions. The fact that a reaction is non-linear provides chemists with information about how it occurs. This information can be used to optimise the reaction, so they can obtain the purest possible enantiomers of the product. This is vital for every company that manufactures substances that are intended to interact with living beings, such as pharmaceuticals, flavours, scents and agricultural chemicals. In some cases, it is also important in the production of new materials.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.”
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