Two Boston College professors received honors for recent developments in their research after they were mentioned in the September 7th edition of the prestigious science journal Nature.
Professors Marc Snapper and Amir Hoveyda were credited with having developed a new catalyst - one that will help to synthesize compounds much more quickly and cheaply than had been possible in the past. "This new catalyst may one day be the tool used to come up with different pharmaceuticals," said Snapper. "The catalyst will allow for much cheaper and easier production of pharmaceuticals."
The catalyst, more properly known as a "silylation catalyst," is of particular importance because it bonds a silicon atom to an alcohol producing an enantiomer. Enantiomers are usually formed in almost identical pairs called chiral molecules - the one key difference between the molecules is that the two enantiomers often differ in medical effects. For instance, one enantiomer may have a positive effect while the other has a negative effect. When a "silylation catalyst" is used, the silicon atom bonds with alcohol, producing only one enantiomer. This chemical reaction allows the scientist to synthesize only the medicinally useful enantiomer. Thus, scientists are able to produce a pharmaceutical without causing negative effects or hindering positive effects.
However, the real benefit of this catalyst lies not in the physical result of a solitary enantiomer, which can be produced by other known methods. Rather, the main benefit is in the fact that this catalyst allows for much cheaper and faster synthesis. With greater ease and speed of production, pharmaceutical companies would be able to produce more medicine at a lower price, thereby lowering the price of expensive prescriptions.
Despite such a remarkable breakthrough, Snapper was quite modest in ascribing credit to himself and his colleague Hoveyda, insisting instead that this was a "group project." Snapper emphasized that the project was a "collaboration of dozens of students with over 20 papers written."
Especially noted by Snapper were two graduate students Yu Zhou, GA&S '10, and Jason Rodrigo, GA&S '11, who had been working on the project for their Ph.D. theses. Both students were only nominally recognized by Nature. "We've been working on this one for two years. We had a need for this compound, we had the collaboration, and we had the tools. What I did was advise," said Snapper.
The BC chemistry department had been expecting to find this chemical reaction from the very beginning. "The outcome was expected," said Snapper. "The raw materials were simple, and we knew the reaction should work; we just had to fine-tune it."
But this discovery was by no means easy to come by. Although the actual project took two years to complete, the research and discoveries that led to these experiments had been developing over many years. "Some discoveries just fall in your lap, but usually it takes years of research." In the end, all their hard work and research has finally paid off.
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