Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded for Breakthrough in Mirror Molecules

Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of how to mass-produce mirror molecules with specific chemical properties. Their work enables the creation of molecules that interact with life, such as medicines and agricultural products, by favoring the production of one mirror image over the other. Kagan's 1986 discovery at Paris-Saclay University and Soai's 2003 achievement of the 'Soai reaction' at the Tokyo University of Science have paved the way for this breakthrough. The 'Soai reaction' uses autocatalysis to amplify one form of mirror molecule, resulting in products that are almost entirely one form.