Nobel Prize 2026 in Chemistry: Henri B. Kagan, Kenso Soai help solve mystery of molecular asymmetry

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.”

The discoveries have helped explain how homochirality, a phenomenon in which living organisms contain only one of two mirror-image variants of certain molecules, can emerge.

Some molecules, including amino acids, exist in two forms that are mirror images of each other. However, only one of these forms is found in the proteins in living organisms, while the other is rarely found in nature.


Also Read: Nobel Prize 2026 in Chemistry awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai

Chemists have long sought to understand how this chemical asymmetry develops. Reactions capable of producing the two mirror-image molecules would traditionally result in equal proportions of both, while chemists wanted to selectively produce one form. This is particularly important when developing molecules that interact with living organisms, such as pharmaceuticals, where only one mirror image may have the desired effect.

Kagan's discovery

Kagan discovered a new way of manipulating chemical reactions that allows a greater excess of one mirror image to be produced than was previously thought possible.

His discovery has become an important tool for chemists designing new reactions. Non-linear effects provide information about how a reaction occurs, which can be used to optimise reactions and obtain the purest possible enantiomers of a product.

The approach is important for companies manufacturing substances intended to interact with living organisms, including pharmaceuticals, flavours, scents and agricultural chemicals. It can also be relevant to the production of new materials.

Soai reaction and the origins of life

Soai developed the Soai reaction, which has generated renewed interest among chemists studying the origins of life.

Researchers around the world are now attempting to reproduce Soai's achievement with the aim of producing homochiral amino acids and sugars.

The discoveries recognised by the 2026 Nobel Prize have given chemists new tools for their work while helping address one of chemistry's longstanding mysteries, how homochirality, as found in living organisms, can emerge.