Professor Ryoji Noyori becomes the tenth Japanese Nobel laureate. (Nagoya University) JAPAN'S TENTH NOBEL LAUREATE: Nagoya University Professor Noyori Wins Chemistry Prize October 29, 2001 Nagoya University professor Ryoji Noyori, 63, and two Americans--K. Barry Sharpless, 60, of Scripps Research Institute and former Monsanto researcher William Knowles, 84--were named joint winners of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on asymmetric synthesis of organic compounds. Their pioneering research has led to the development and industrial production of new drugs, such as those to treat Parkinson's disease, and other biologically active compounds. Noyori is the second Japanese Nobel laureate in two years and the tenth overall. He is also the third Japanese researcher to receive the prize in chemistry. Tsukuba University professor emeritus Hideki Shirakawa won the chemistry award last year. Producing Only Beneficial Compounds Some naturally occurring organic compounds manifest themselves in two different ways, despite having the same number and types of atoms, depending on how the atoms are linked. Such compounds are called chirals, and they appear as mirror images of one another. While the "right-hand" and "left-hand" types have the same chemical properties, they can have opposite effects on living organisms, with one working as a drug and the other as a toxicant. Only the type that is necessary is produced naturally by microorganisms, but when compounds are artificially synthesized, the beneficial and harmful varieties are created together. This was the problem with thalidomide, which was developed in the 1950s as a sleeping aid. While the right-hand compound was a sedative, the left-hand variety was found to be a teratogenic, causing fetal malformations when taken by pregnant women and leading to the birth of many deformed babies worldwide. Developing a method by which only the useful type of compound is produced had long been a dream of chemists. The three recipients devised catalysts to efficiently produce just one type of chiral compound. The techniques have been applied in the industrial production of pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics and treatments for heart disease. Noyori succeeded in producing right- and left-hand molecules separately in 1966 using a catalyst made of copper and an organic compound. By experimenting with various combinations of metals and organic compounds, moreover, he achieved higher enantiomeric purity, enabling the production of vitamin E, vitamin K, and menthol. In the late 1980s, the technique was successfully applied to the synthesis of prostaglandin, a cancer retardant, as well as a number of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. A Man of Effort Noyori was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1938. His father worked for a chemical company and was also a researcher, and so there were many chemistry books and product samples as Noyori grew up. His first full-fledged contact with chemistry came soon after he entered middle school, when he accompanied his father to an announcement of new products by a textile maker. After learning that nylon was made of air, water, and coal, he became fascinated by the possibilities of chemistry. While at Kyoto University, though, he spent most of his time on nonacademic pursuits, such as playing rugby, and concedes that he was a "bad student." His attitude changed dramatically in his fourth year, however, when he discovered the world of organic chemistry. "I had never known there was such an interesting world," he recalls, and poured all his time and energy into conducting chemical experiments. While serving as a research assistant at the university, he suffered injuries to his face and neck requiring 20 stitches in an explosion in the lab. He was back in the lab two days later, however, continuing with his experiments. "I'm not particularly gifted," Noyori notes humbly, "so I need to give 120% of myself to do what others can accomplish with only 80% effort." His devotion to research over his 40-year career has resulted in the publication of over 400 papers, which have been quoted over 16,000 times by researchers worldwide.   Your Name What did you think of this article? It was interesting. It was boring. Send this article to a friend Noyori claims an affection for Mozart and visual arts. He is also partial to good food and especially good wine, claiming that a chemist must have an affinity for fine cuisine; having broad tastes and interests, he notes, can engender fresh insights. "The Nobel Prize is the highest honor bestowed to a researcher in the natural sciences," Noyori commented on the award. "And I could not feel more honored at being named a recipient." Japanese Nobel Laureates 1949     Hideki Yukawa     Physics 1965     Shin'ichiro Tomonaga     Physics 1968     Yasunari Kawabata     Literature 1973     Reona Esaki     Physics 1974     Eisaku Sato     Peace 1981     Ken'ichi Fukui     Chemistry 1987     Susumu Tonegawa     Physiology 1994     Kenzaburo Oe     Literature 2000     Hideki Shirakawa     Chemistry 2001     Ryoji Noyori     Chemistry Copyright (c) 2001 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.