The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Periodic Table of Videos

Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan win the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis".
More links and info in full description ↓↓↓
Discussed by Martyn Poliakoff, Pete Licence and Liam Ball at the University of Nottingham.
Nobel website: www.nobelprize.org/prizes/che...
Many more Nobel Prize videos on our channel: bit.ly/periodicnobel
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From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: bit.ly/NottChem
This episode was also generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran: www.bradyharan.com/
Brady's Blog: www.bradyharanblog.com
Filming and editing in this video by Sean Riley and James Hennessy.
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[@filipdahlberg4420]

Should do a Nobel prize series for all nobel prizes since the first award

[@Hannah-lr1uc]

@ivan schafeldt obviously meant the chemistry ones

[@hf4040]

@ivan schafeldt get over it lol

[@DoubleM55]

@ivan schafeldt Ivermectin also won a Nobel peace prize, according to some ellected officials in the USA. What a joke. Edit: I mean, US politics and politics in general is a joke, not the nobel prize. Although Nobel Prize for lobotomy is also pretty embarrassing.

[@_Longwinded]

@ivan schafeldt This will shock you surely Andrei Sakharov won 1975 Nobel peace Prize, And he designed world’s most powerful nuclear bomb Tsar 🤠🤧

[@CooManTunes]

YEAH. WE SHOULD SEE A SERIES THAT REVEALS ALL OF THE UNEARNED NOBEL PRIZES, LIKE OBOZO'S, FOR EXAMPLE.

[@nost72]

The example of limonene as having the smell of lemon or orange depending on its chirality has always been given for granted. Actually, pure limonene has a very faint smell and does not contribute much to the smell of lemons or oranges. Instead, there are other molecules contained in lemons and oranges, like other terpenes and their alcoholic and aldehydic derivatives, which characterize the flavour of the two fruits. The fact is that samples of D and L limonene are usually isolated from citrus fruits, and even minimal amounts of residual impurities will characterize their flavour profile. So 99% of the difference in smell between L and D limonene is just due to different impurities, depending on its origin. A much better example is carvone, which has a much lower smell threshold and whose enantiomers smell of spearmint and cumin respectively. In this case it's carvone to be truly characterizing.

[@AlexBesogonov]

Another great example is methamphetamine. The L-enantiomer is sold over-the-counter in the US and it works as a nasal decongestant. The D-enantiomer is the illegal stimulant drug we all know and love.

[@jeffreyprentis]

More information from you than the video thanks

[@B-System]

What on earth was I remembering regarding limonene and cumene? Are they isomers?

[@yyunko7764]

Thalidomide is the best example imo, one enantiomer treats morning-sickness in pregnant women, the other is teratogenic

[@AlexBesogonov]

@@yyunko7764 Thalidomide racemizes readily, so you can't just make a stereo-specific version.

[@markiangooley]

If you want to have a shot at a Nobel Prize, it helps to do pioneering work, but it’s also important NOT TO DIE YOUNG as none of the prizes are posthumous. It’s also better to win it when you’re past your best work and can just give speeches about it…

[@ProfessorWaltherKotz]

Just casually mentioning the name Rolf Huisgen here

[@spuriouss]

@@ProfessorWaltherKotz why him i'm just curious?

[@superscatboy]

I didn't die young, and I'm well past my best work. WHERE'S MY PRIZE?!

[@sailaab]

😄yes true Yes☹ these wlitist classist dorks do not honour anyone posthumously.

[@sailaab]

*+superscatboy* you hold on buddy! Wait! They are woekinv on it and might soon have Nobel prizes for laundrywomen/ laundrymen too. You 😄 do stand a fair chance😁

[@KaspuKasper]

that ending really got me, nobelists got roasted HARD

[@N1ghtStalkerNL]

Well the main point is that Nobel price winners have already made their contribution to science, so being public figures and inspiring a new generation would likely be far more productive for the community than them keeping at it until they die.

[@archivethearchives]

I also think that he was advising any scientists that would rather be allowed to continue their life work with steady productivity to not look for a ceremonial recognition of that caliber while they are young and have many more hypotheses to pursue.

[@menace353]

🤣🤣🤣

[@realspacemodels]

Paul Dirac said the problem with winning the Nobel Prize was that all of the sudden everything he said becomes a "Dirac says..." quotable moment. (Kind of like this)

[@yondaime500]

Sort of like xkcd 799. Although Stephen Hawking didn't even need to win the Nobel Prize to get that honor.

[@jemmerllast8492]

@@yondaime500 There is always a relevant XKCD haha

[@opsimathics]

It is human nature to transform admiration into zealotry.

[@yazheed3055]

Where did u get that (just curious)

[@hasalgom]

It was really exciting when they announced it given that I'm a student in a laboratory that focuses in organocatalysis and total synthesis. It is more significative because I'm in my second project using a proline derivative catalyst

[@Olhado256]

Wow, that must be a really cool feeling!

[@Aahan101]

Ahh nice

[@thedarkknight1865]

Great

[@oscarbear7498]

what are you doing on youtube, hurry and discover something, the field of organocatalysis is dropping noble prize , catch one while you can

[@irradiatedbadger]

Happy you guys are still making videos! The professor is such an inspiring person!

[@juijani4445]

The Return of Our Dear Dr Pete "EXPLOSIVE" Licence! Amazed to know that stereochemistry has such importance in our day-to-day lives! I mean that lemon-orange example just blew my mind! Such classic aldol and Diels-Alder reactions.

[@vishaltripathy3620]

i eqarlier thought that in living creatures either find one of the enantiomers, not both. this is really great example

[@orlock20]

I learned years ago from an orange farmer that lemons trees and orange trees are hybrids and that lemons are dominate. If you have an orange orchard and want a lemon orchard, plant just one lemon tree and eventually all the orange trees will turn to lemon trees. You can even get lemons and oranges growing on the same tree.

[@vikaskalsariya9425]

[@lucasfc4587]

Are you sure of that? I haven’t researched this, but I’m pretty sure lemons and oranges are different species, and I have never seen a genetic dominant behaviour manifest itself through signals after the cell is already formed. And about the “orange tree having lemons” is real, by a technique named grafting or budding, and is not related to epigenetics, just about plant physiology

[@deoxyplasmic]

I feel like a very successful and productive scientist right now.

[@Auoric]

I remember when I started watching this channel's videos, I didn't really understand the big concepts as I was just in high school but still enjoyed them. It inspired me to do Chemical Engineering in college. Now, I can really appreciate the concepts with the new knowledge I've gained. Thank you periodic videos!

[@onesky8647]

What would chemists do without dog toys? :)

[@shoeurenda]

Thank you for all the videos you do.

[@mikesummers-smith4091]

Oh Lord, I pray upon my knees, That my organic syntheses, May no longer be inferior, To those conducted by bacteria. (J.Org.Chem., 1960s)

[@daedra40]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mathiaswesterlund292]

It is really exciting to see organocatalysis getting some recognition! I did my master's thesis in asymmetric organocatalysis and it really is a fantastic area of chemistry.

[@Skunkhunt_42]

Id love to read it if you have the title and school, or a link to a copy.

[@mathiaswesterlund292]

​@@Skunkhunt_42 Don't think I can post links in comments (?), but my thesis work is called "Synthesis of dihydropyranones from chromene aldehydes via an oxidative NHC-catalyzed kinetic resolution", done at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). Or if you'd rather read the published article in EurJOC, it is called "Asymmetric Synthesis of Dihydropyranones with Three Contiguous Stereocenters by an NHC-Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution".

[@Skunkhunt_42]

@@mathiaswesterlund292thanks! ill give em a look. I'm a chemE so my synth skills are weak but interested in potentials of methods using less toxic/expensive cats. Most of my work is in flavor/fragrance and some drug dev.

[@sevrent2811]

this could be very useful for medicine production as well. A lot of enzymes are chiral and either R or S and react most efficiently with the right molecule of the right chirality. So being able to produce molecules of specific chirality could have big implications for medicine.

[@donaldhoot7741]

Martyn, I love the way you explain things! I hope you are well.

[@RohitPant04]

Such an accurate & concise presentation. Subbed! 🙏

[@rainerlanglotz3134]

What was shown in the Mac Millan paper here was not a Diels alder reaction (which forms a 6-ring) but a 1.3. dipolar cycloaddition forming a 5-ring. Oh... and the smell of oranges comes from traces of a thiol compound derived from Limonen. it has one of the lowest smelling tresholds known. Lovely video nonetheless!

[@DegustoDelSol]

Thank you for all the knowledge!

[@DoiInthanon1897]

Glad to see Pete back on here!

[@j.b.w.]

Excellent video as always, just the right amount of detail.

[@sadrevolution]

I really love this channel, but I kind of wish they would go into explaining the mechanisms a bit. How does the catalytic reaction ensure selection of a given enantiomer over the other? Interested to hear more from Dr. Ball, nice to see Dr. Licence back, and Prof. Poliakoff's hair has never looked better!

[@PajamaMan44]

It’s a whole field of study I doubt they could meaningfully explain in a short video. You can look up enantiomer selective catalysts, but basically you use a chiral catalyst which hinders the transition state of the undesired enantiomer. The ones I learned in school basically would put bulky ligands in positions to physically block certain enantiomers from forming

[@daviddet]

They actually show it in the scheme at 3:26. Basically proline condenses onto your ketone, and the COOH group holds the reaction partner in place and in one specific orientation that's more energetically favored than the other option. For MacMillan's dipolar cycloaddition (not Diels-Alder, they showed the wrong paper at 5:18), it behaves in essentially the same way.

[@a-klashinkov-4755]

this channel should get the Nobel prize

[@jayminpatel2932]

Honestly this is enormous especially in biopharmaceutics and efficiency of drug metabolism insitu in vivo

[@HisameArtwork]

very interesting video as always, thanks for sharing with us

[@Jborgzz1]

About twenty years passed between publication and the award. Crazy!

[@carlasouza5194]

Dr. Martyn Poliakoff you are the best! wish I can meet you someday....

[@sean16hall3]

Your ties are legendary professor

[@TheChannelXY]

Glad to see Pete again:))

[@austinbutts3000]

I had Dr. David Lee, Nobel Laureate in Physics for his work on helium-3 superfluidity, as my E&M professor freshman year. Something tells me he liked that environment a lot more than traveling to talk about the research for his prize.

[@marclink0]

2:07 HE'S BACK !

[@joewebster903]

In my opinion the recent discovery of molecular recognition in predilections hydrogen bonding is one aspect of new chemical discoveries that have and continue to shape future discoveries. Also recent discoveries that plasmonic physical chemical influences on organic hyreoxy substituted benzotriazoles, benzophenones and s triazine compounds causing a profound hypdochromic and red shift shows how little we understand photochemical interactions and now opens a new study into new possibilities , exciting time for chemistry wish I has thirty more years!

[@clappincheeks5584]

Very happy to see another video, love y’all!

[@infamous77x]

Been really waiting for this one

[@DragonBornGirl50]

As a chemist who is extremly in love with chemistry and biochemistry I would love to win this prize but at the same time a lot of these nobel prize winners (not saying these 2) are chosen for political reasons. There is a lot involved, luck, implication of your research, social politics, geopolitics, etc... this makes it not so much about you being awarded for your science anymore, which is silly if you ask me. So idk. I think the greatest thing is learning science and having a passion for it, and if your research helps something whether you get a prize or not, that is the biggest reward you could want.

[@lisawallace921]

Exactly!

[@lisawallace921]

Exactly!

[@DragonBornGirl50]

@@lisawallace921 Thnk you Lisa :) Appreciate the kind comment

[@ooooneeee]

This is especially true for the Novel Peace Price which had often been awarded to recipients that have arguably not done much for peace.

[@oscarbear7498]

@@ooooneeee obama won nobel peace prize... the guy stated wars, and wrecked the US internationally. the nobel peace price is a straight up joke

[@paillette2010]

I remember the Thalidomide lecture when learning chirality

[@karhukivi]

And sugars.

[@idiotidiot5821]

Spearmint with light polarization and smell difference

[@avlinrbdig5715]

chivalry* "a carbon-based-lifeform could only be right, because all others were left" damn.. this doesnt work that well in english :D

[@johnwedzicha]

Funny, that not once did he mention the word "chiral" or "chirality".

[@gsurfer04]

Unfortunately, thalidomide couldn't be fixed as it racemises in the body.

[@KafshakTashtak]

So, the weird thing is that the handedness of the molecules apparently matches between pretty much all biological organisms on planet earth, because we could consume each other, and one handedness became dominant (I don't know how). But imagine if life forms on a different planet and they have the opposite handedness. Could that mean we cannot consume each other?

[@BetterDeadThanRed99]

Opposing amino acid enantiomers can be disruptive to our own biological processes, so I would imagine this also applies in reverse as well. I know that while our own biology on Earth favors L-enantiomers, it makes use of both D and L enantiomers - but the relationship is very complex and somewhat unique to 'Earthling' biochemistry. Some L-enantiomers are actually toxic to us, while some D-enantiomers aren't, for some reason. That's a very interesting point to bring up. Thanks for sharing.

[@sevrent2811]

it make sense why a lot of biological molecules are of specific chirality, because different enantiomers can react differently or not react at all with some molecules. Like some enzymes dont react at all with different enantiomers. My question is exactly WHY one specific chirality was chosen over the other. You could have D amino acids instead of L but for some reason we ended up with L.

[@BetterDeadThanRed99]

​@@sevrent2811 I vaguely remember attempting to answer that same question myself once... from what I remember, it has something to do with primitive bacterial adaptations in early organisms; something about the integrity of certain bacterial membranes -if I'm not mistaken.

[@BetterDeadThanRed99]

Well at least I can sleep easy tonight knowing that I'm probably toxic to hungry extraterrestrials.

[@domramsey]

I won't rest until I've seen the Professor turn a lemon into an orange.

[@CherryBomb50]

I'm with you.

[@giovannipelissero1886]

What about plastic gloves into grape soda?

[@domramsey]

@@giovannipelissero1886 None of this NileRed nonsense! I want to see whole lemons turned into whole oranges! And rabbits pulled from top hats!

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

humans out of monkeys!

[@UncleKennysPlace]

I'd rather have a lemon that smells like an orange, just to confuse people.

[@biglipsjim]

Thank you

[@Jonathan-yh7cr]

So good to see Prof. Licence!! My first Periodic Video I watched was his video on Mercury!!!! Been here ever since

[@planetsoccer99]

Here so early it hasn't been listed yet! Look forward to these videos every year.

[@marktaylor865]

You cheated. Lol

[@danfg7215]

Hey, I remember this guy at 2:09 ! Where has he been? I miss his videos

[@NipkowDisk]

Although I'm a surveyor and not a chemist, I do find the Diels-Alder reaction to be utterly fascinating.

[@ghostwriter1415]

What do you mean by, "surveyor"?

[@NipkowDisk]

@@ghostwriter1415 My original reply was deleted although I have no idea why. A web search on land surveying will bring up detailed descriptions of the profession.

[@ghostwriter1415]

​@@NipkowDisk thank you.

[@NipkowDisk]

@@ghostwriter1415 You're welcome.

[@saifurrahman7497]

I studied this at university in my final year, asymmetrical catalysis is so cool

[@kksk8737]

Professor explains clearly, he himself is a noble prize material

[@albertmakhmudov]

Prof and Brady, thanks for great video and explanation! ✨

[@WilliamFord972]

We’re talking about using proline for enantio-selective synthesis, but is the proline enantiomerically pure?

[@Feetkiller97]

Amazing video! Good to see Pete again

[@Ibeechu]

I was really interested in the fact that the professor mentioned regarding one enantiomer of limonene being in oranges and one in lemons, but after some research it appears that that's a myth, and that both lemons and oranges have almost exclusively the d-limonene enantiomer

[@trinitywr6347]

That’s the only thing I understood ,so yeah

[@StuffandThings_]

Does that mean we could, in the future, use bacteria to make molecules of the correct handedness? I know they've already started using yeast as little chemical factories for stuff like rose oil, but if they can produce these organic catalysts then shouldn't it suddenly become quite easy to have them readily produce right or left handed molecules?

[@Apocalymon]

I think that's already in wide use already. Unfortunately I forgot which company was doing it - it was from a video I watched last year.

[@izarscharf7845]

everyone is doing this already the breakthrough was not the enantioselectivity but that you could use small molecules to achieve it

[@gigglysamentz2021]

For small molecules it's achieable to do it both chemically and in yeast. For more complex molecules it might not work out

[@gigglysamentz2021]

The advantage of using yeast is you can call it "natural flavouring" :P

[@izarscharf7845]

@@gigglysamentz2021 no you cant because as soon as you have created a transgenic organsim on purpose it will be a GMO, however there are methods to do this in a less directed manner

[@nyusa78]

dear Sir I have a question for you. I am an adjunct professor with significant publications , not a full time faculty, In my home did some experiments , neither this work was done before by anyone. Do you think I get proper recognition if I publish my data in a journal not very much known though considered as a peer reviewed journal

[@johnjamesbaldridge867]

Mint and caraway are also mirror images.

[@souravsahil3405]

Where can I read the published papers of the prize winners?

[@donaldinnewmexico]

Hi, I had no idea organic chemicals had handedness. That's a new one to me. Again, you blow my mind. *TYU*

[@Whiteboykun]

Yeah, look up chirality

[@CaptainCataractss]

Thank you so much for explaining this. I was so confused about the process before.

[@xja85mac]

Dr. Licence is back!

[@jal4science573]

I'm glad to have learned about stereochemistry not too long ago in class. This really ties down how relevant it is. I'm just too thrilled that I actually understand what they are talking about!

[@HootMaRoot]

What I find amazing is that for such a small country Scotland and university of Glasgow has now produced its 11th chemistry Nobel prize for Scotland, but think its the 5th for university of Glasgow

[@quintessenceSL]

Overall, the UK has had an outsized influence on the world in both the arts and sciences. Something in the water or the culture there, but for such a non-descript island, I am often surprised and humbled by how many of my favorite things hail from there.

[@RobbeSeolh]

L-methamphetamine is a component of nasal spray, R-methamphetamine is the extremely powerful and addictive stimulant. The drug meth is usually 50/50 L and R methamphetamine

[@hangintreefrog]

Keeping science amazing...thank you

[@jayday4879]

love your work can I ask you all a question...is the glass half full or half empty..it's not a trick it dose have an answer..please comment

[@aa55claa55cl]

omg..... we miss our lovely prof Pete Licenceon this channel

[@parthverma6251]

Idk why but I feel proud for being able to understand all of this.

[@bdnugget]

Cool, I did my thesis on chiral auxilliaries in Diels Alder reactions (also works on aldol), but they fell out of favour because of this. It was really hard to find literature from later than the 80's because of it.

[@DoiInthanon1897]

I love seeing a notification for a new Periodic Video’s upload. You guys have the best chemistry channel out on KZbin. Your videos are the best

[@PetraKann]

What is atom efficiency? And sustainable chemistry?

[@seigeengine]

atom efficiency is when your atoms just work better than other atoms, and sustainable chemistry is chemistry that sustains itself. Don't fact check me, I'm flawless.

[@Redgethechemist]

Atom efficiency is the ratio of the number of atoms of the final product divided by the number of atoms of the reagents. Ideally, the max number is 1, meaning that all the atoms used for the reaction were converted to the final compound. If you have by-products or catalysts that you can’t recycle, this number drops pretty fast. Sustainable chemistry means that you spend less energy and material to produce chemicals, that you use harmless chemicals and that the waste is as little as possible, without issues for the environment, then the process is more sustainable as it is less costly for the environment.

[@PetraKann]

@@Redgethechemist That is reaction conversion efficiency. Sustainable Chemistry is a subjective concept. You can attach the word sustainable to almost anything and it can mean almost anything depending on how you define it and its contextual application. Without these contexts and definitions the terms become nonsensical and trivial jargon

[@migalbryers]

What's that periodic table in the background?

[@mateuszcielas3362]

whats the vid where they showed the car park?

[@mubasharqadeerSAP]

Give this man a Nobel prise for being most entertaining scientist.

[@beefgoat80]

OMG!!! DR. PETE!!!!!

[@masterxDh20]

Ah organic chemistry. I remember aldol reaction and the nightmares of drawing the molecules.

[@PopeLando]

Pete!

[@kida4313]

A very interesting application of this is Thalidomide, an enantiomer. It is a fantastic, broadly applicable medication with only moderate side effects. Provided you get the right configuration, get the wrong one and you'll have the horrific birth defects Germany experienced in the 50s and 60s.

[@hasanhas00n1]

amazing ending

[@Michelinman420]

haven't seen Pete in a while, I always liked him

[@PaulisInclusion]

Time for 2022 video

[@metacob]

So a lot of other catalysts have been found since List & MacMillan found theirs, but what about dogalysts?

[@telectronix1368]

Unfortunately all the samples they tried have degraded significantly from their original vulpinalyst structures.

[@Hippiekinkster]

You need to look in specialty chemical dogalogues.

[@peterpanbigdick.]

From small ideas great thinks come.

[@bakedbrownie69]

i love how the professor used dog toys to demonstrate R and S configurations

[@AlejandroTaylorEscribano]

This man is a national treasure

[@kwantator]

This may hint that there could be some molecules back in time "selected" some form isomers like d-glucose and made creation/evolution of life easier

[@daviddet]

This prize has absolutely nothing (outside of tangentially) to do with the evolution of life or the origin of asymmetry in biological molecules. It's just an application of one of them. And the two enantiomers are exactly energetically identical to one another. That's part of why it's so hard to make one favorably over the other.

[@roberttelarket4934]

Martyn Poliakoff wins 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry!

[@isakrynell8771]

So how long til we get left handed sugar?

[@masacatior]

Long time no see Dr Pete! And he's looking like a football coach.

[@saswatpati964]

Prof when are you getting a Nobel?

[@joshuamitchell5530]

1:50 That’s a myth. Both oranges and lemons contain mostly R-limonene. It’s a mixture of compounds which give oranges and lemons their scent.

[@blah1856]

Professor, is there any preference of handedness of molecules naturally?

[@dogukantosun7099]

yes if im not wrong, almost all of sugar in nature is left handed bcoz off the enzymes.

[@WilliamBranhamsermons]

Nice Video

[@stianaslaksen5799]

"do you have to put your medal on the dashboard" :D I laughed.

[@jacobs83133]

Nice video.Your colleague Milos,Food engineer

[@rawsaucerobert]

Where can I get that tie?

[@philsmiles879]

Im starting my Chemistry studies at my Uni, partly thanks to your wonderful videos, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your great service of showing the amazing sides of chemistry!

[@gunstarhero8028]

Best of luck!

[@philsmiles879]

@@gunstarhero8028 thanks!

[@blanana_m]

wow!

[@1.4142]

yay!

[@samproctor4040]

Omg I missed Pete !! Great to see him again

[@Hobo_X]

I don't really get how the molecule can be different by being a mirror reflection. Wouldn't it just depend on which perspective you're looking at it from?

[@Screedomy]

Achieving Enantioselective organic synthesis by utilizing organic molecules as catalysts is amazing

[@intothecalm420]

Should do a video on Kary Mullis. He invented the PCR test. He also said specifically that it "Should never be used to diagnose disease". He unfortunately passed on in late 2019.

[@kapa1611]

He also said specifically that it "Should never be used to diagnose disease". that's funny xD

[@Shinchilla85]

Professor Martyn Poliakoff is the best prof. ever! I love him so much and i hope to have him a long and vital life!

[@ThatChemistOld]

proline is still one of the best catalysts - our lab uses them for chlorination-aldol reactions with dioxanone